Posted on 01/09/2003 11:04:50 AM PST by pabianice
Left behind by the great Republican raid on the national Treasury are folks like Karelia Escobar and Joe Bergmann, middle-aged New Yorkers who have worked most of their lives but now find themselves traveling the anxious paths of the long-term unemployed.
With bills mounting and each day bringing a heightened sense of dread, they could use a little help. But the jobless are at the bottom of the economic heap, and the Bush administration's help seems always to go to the top.
Ms. Escobar is 43 and single, and lives in a small apartment in Queens. She has worked for a number of airlines over the past several years, most recently as a ticket agent for T.W.A. That job vanished with the World Trade Center.
"We were laid off Oct. 14, 2001," she said. "I haven't been able to find work since then. I've applied everywhere. I've gone back to school to improve my computer skills. I've learned another language. I feel very bad because I want to work so I can pay my bills. I've always worked. But now I can't find a job."
That plaintive comment is echoing from coast to coast. Unemployment is rising. And as the millions of jobless Americans (including many in the middle class) exhaust their benefits and run through their savings, they are finding themselves face to face with the horror of destitution.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They speak of it as if it's some sort of natural resource.
Have to disagree here. Most of those I know who have been laid off are between 45 and 65. No one will hire any older workers because they don't want to incur any retirement benefits or medical benefits for older people who need more medical care.
To them, it is - it's the mother lode for liberalism...
Ms. Escobar has taken the president's policies somewhat personally. "I'm a Republican and I'm not ashamed to say it," she said. "But I'm very upset that they have done nothing for us."
I asked if she had voted for Mr. Bush. "I sure did," she said, then added, "I feel very betrayed."
Their advertisers are bailing-out; they can smell a dying paper. So the newstand price is raised to help offset the declining ad revenue.
Hello, he's an opinion columnist. He's paid for having a bias. Complaining about his "bias" against Bush and the GOP is like claiming Ann Coulter is "biased" against Democrats. This is an op-ed, not a news article. If you want to complain about the NY times news articles being biased, fine- there's plenty of fodder. But complaining about an op-ed being "biased" will just give Herbert a good laugh.
See post 26. This is an op-ed, it's supposed to have a viewpoint. People read the opinion page for opinions, and that's the page Herbert writes for. Complain if he's wrong, or thick-headed or the like, but he's supposed to be "biased."
I think if I had to and were single, I could live on a $10 an hour job. I wouldn't be living well and I wouldn't like it one bit-but I think I could do it.
Unemployment is also due in part to the corporations creating jobs outside of America and bringing immigrants (legal and illegal) into America for cheap labor. The working class must be thrilled with Bush's economic package geared towards stockholders and the unemployed... There doesn't seem to be anything in the package to create incentives for companies to stay in America and hire working class Americans. And the silence on H1b visas is deafening.
Sorry to hear that. I wish you well. Good luck and may you find a new job very soon.
Excellent point. Last night Scott Pelley did a piece on 60 Min II about the unemployed. Not once did he even mention the possibility that your point was a factor. I sent him a nice email, explaining that to him, and congratulating him on their lost viewership.
"The Times" did not assume anything. "The Times" did not write this article, or endorse it as bias-free. This is not a news article, it's an OPINION article, in the OPINION section. OPINION writers have the right to be opinionated or even biased. NEWS articles matter, OPINION articles do not. This is not a case of media bias, or of the Times making dumb assumptions.
May have been true 10 years ago,..today if the government imposed regulations and all taxes were dropped the jobs would still go to the lowest bidder..RED CHINA..
BTW the governments own numbers say most Large Corporations pay no taxes...
Traditionally,
in America, people
assume that things will
get better! My dad
didn't hesitate to take
a mortgage or loan
because middle class
life meant continuity.
Only recently
has the idea
of continuity turned
into a big joke.
Sure. Life's a jungle.
But here in America
we had beat it back...
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