In 1931 James Truslow Adams coined the phrase, “The American Dream.” His definition stated that The American Dream meant citizens of every rank feel they can achieve a better, richer and happier life. I have heard many times that one goal of each generation has always been to pass on to the next generation a “better” life. The United States of America, like all countries, experiences economic highs and lows. Many countries, the United States included, offer assistance to those struggling to make it.
Ideally each person could work full-time, have benefits, and grow and prosper in one’s career. In the current economic times, it is often more realistic for people to get one or more part-time jobs in order to make ends meet. Oftentimes people need to collect unemployment benefits while seeking employment.
A recent article on Yahoo News has me quite concerned. Those receiving unemployment benefits are being discouraged from taking part-time jobs because of the impact it is having on unemployment benefits. Some quotes from the Yahoo article:
“Most of the people caught in this snag are on Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), a federal program to help those who have exhausted their state benefits. However, after workers have been jobless for 52 weeks, states are required to check to see if a worker has requalified for state benefits. If someone is eligible for state benefits – no matter how small – federal law requires that he or she stop collecting EUC and go back onto state benefits. The states, many with unemployment pools that are borrowing from the federal government, are dramatically reducing the amount paid out to individuals…The potential reduction in benefits for parttimers and temps comes as temp services are starting to hire more workers because businesses don’t want to add fulltimers until they're sure the economic recovery is permanent. In February, temporary help services added 48,000 jobs, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Since September, jobs at temp services have risen by 284,000…In the 1990s, the last time America saw high long-term unemployment among a sizable share of its work force, Congress changed the law to prevent the unemployed from being penalized for taking up parttime work. However, that change expired.”
A business professional has confided with me that, although she has been unemployed for 60 weeks, she has had to turn down opportunities because unemployment benefits outweigh the benefits of working in a less-than full-time career position.
I want to avoid the obvious questions like, “Is it right?” or “Is it fair?” What I would like to hear are suggestions on how to fix it. What must be done to make going back to work a better option than collecting unemployment benefits?
This article may be found at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100329/ts_csm/291284
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Back when I was on welfare, sure I was encouraged to go to school and find work to become self sufficient. However, I found myself in the same place above cited person found themselves. If I went to retrain, what would I do? If I did it, how could I juggle daycare + job + actually spending time with child? Do I let the child become a "doorkey child" and forget that he even exists? With the choices open to me at the time, none of them guaranteed full time work anywhere.
ReplyDeleteRight now, I sit with at least 8 years of solid customer service training behind me. However, I'm too medically sick to hold down 40 hours. Again, in a call center with even a full schedule, you don't make enough to sufficiently provide for your children and you. Again, I have the school option, but I'm too sick medically to show up all the time. If I am there, I may be spending tons of time in the bathroom and how productive is that? It's not.
I don't like being in this position, not at all, where I'd like to work but my body is failing me at the moment and I can't hold down a job. I'm working on being stronger & healthier. But it gives me pause to wonder, even after subjecting myself to all the labs, tests, stuff, how bad is the job market going to look then? I dunno.