Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs

New York Times ^ | February 20, 2010 | PETER S. GOODMAN

[MinorityRepublican]

You should teach a course in “How to be Self-Sufficient”

[ICCtheWay]

Yes - and Good For You... We should all start our own business... sometimes is it difficult - and sometimes it works.

If you are out of work and over age 50 - I strongly suggest finding a way to start a business - perhaps something you have wanted to do most of your life - but didn’t... We need innovation.

Think it through - do the research... Nothing like being your own boss.

[McGavin999]

Pretty scary when you get to be a senior and lose a job. It’s almost impossible to find one. May God bless her, she needs to find a state where the cost of living is much lower and she can make her husbands disability stretch a bit further.

[Revolting cat!]

I’m with you, don’t misunderstand, but the money to pay these people who created their own jobs has to come from somewhere, and it comes from corporate and gummint jockeys, not from the folks employed by Wal-mart.

Here’s what I saw in the IT Department of a medium size public corporation recently. Layoffs, but of local engineers, being replaced by the Chinese, the Hindus, and by consultants installing SAP or Oracle packages to replace locally developed software. No managers ($120K+) are being laidoff, and no project leaders. Do you happen to know what IT Project Leaders do? Have you seen the Microsoft Project program and its bells and whistles? Well, that’s what they produce on a daily bases, colored (African American?) charts. Production goes offshore, management and “project leading” stay in!

[Velveeta]

Wonderful suggestions, thank you.
The only problem these days is needing to find somewhere where the health insurance costs are at least shared by the employer. COBRA costs were tough to swallow.

[Southack]

COBRA costs have been enormously subsidized for the past year! People are paying $350/month for $1,100/month policies.

How long have you been unemployed that you didn’t see the reduced rates?

[MARTIAL MONK]

I was my own boss but I fired that SOB.

[LiveFree99]

I have a friend/former co-worker, age 59, whose wife tried to start a small business. Didn't work out and they were digging themselves out of their debt when he got sh*t-canned on a Thursday last September with no warning. It wasn't that he wasn't doing his job or didn't have work to do; Corporate just decided to cut a million out of their budget and he was a target. Last I heard from him he was still unemployed but being very upbeat. He was a recruiter/HR type, so obviously there aren't a lot of jobs out there for him.

BTW, I work with an 80-year-old who still works even though he could comfortably retire. We have special technical skills that are typically in demand, particularly by defense firms. I'm taking grad courses, on my company's dime, of course, to expand my knowledge and make me even more versatile in the job market when I start looking around for another position.

[ICCtheWay]

You have a great sense of humor Martial Monk...

Work hard to retain it...

[Chickensoup]

This woman’s husband and daughter are both on disability.

I work in healthcare and I thought everyone in the world was on disability except me. The dirty little secret of social security benefits is that a lot of it is spent on SSDI for druggies and others with “bad backs.” White man welfare.

[ICCtheWay]

There are a million stories ... of lost work and retained faith... I hope your friend finds a way out... and your plan is a good one — make yourself versatile - look out for trends and new opportunities ....

An HR/Recruiter could start a home based - internet based business - recruiting specialty type employees for various firms... a personal touch... perhaps not high volume - but with lower costs operating from home - perhaps it would work.

[kcvl]

I thought everyone in the world was on disability except me. The dirty little secret of social security benefits is that a lot of it is spent on SSDI for druggies and others with “bad backs.”

I know exactly what you are saying! You just have to know the right lawyer and pass the information down to your friends.

The same goes for getting a crooked doctor to write the prescriptions that you want. I have seen loads of druggies come in with a prescription for the same drugs (narcotics) and leave in the same van together.

And no one gives a crap. It doesn't matter how many times you report them they keep getting the drugs.

Instead of chasing down one person with a little pot they could be investigating a drug ring but that is too much trouble.

The same goes for disability cheats. No one cares to investigate it, it's too much trouble.

I know a dance teacher who still teaches at her daughter's school who is on disability! It pays for her new house. How she sleeps at night I'll never know! She is no more disabled than many of the people with the disabled parking signs on their cars just too damned lazy to walk a block.