[sickofthehandouts]

I have been lurking here for a long time wanting to post but mainly enjoying the posts of others but this one topic has drawn me in.
This might possibly be the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Since you cant-wont go out and get a job in 13 weeks we will now give you 13 more to lounge around on someonelses dime.
I live in Hampton Roads area and can tell you that the only people here who arent working are people who dont want to work. The peopole who are manipulating this unemployment are people of education of which I am not but it stands to reason that a college grad who has become unemployed and cant find a job in the field they have been in that anything would be better than nothing.
If I were to become unemployed the first thing I would do is find a job. Any job, from shoveling shit to working in the drive thru at a fast food joint. Second, once anyone in this country becomes employed this immediatly stops the job hunt WRONG.
In a country where people are set up to suceed not fail why stop looking for a better job? The problem began long ago when people became " to good to do that " and the dems with the massive social programs have spurned a belief that if I need something and cant get it on my own that the govt will take care of me. This is bullshit.
I have been on the very bottom of the barrel in the job market and through hard work and constantly trying to better myself have become selfemployed and and am in a great financial position that is until it comes to this issue. Being taxed in one of the highest tax brackets and having to pay unemployment insurance on my employees I just see this country going deeper and deeper into my pocket to take care of people to lazy to work. This to me is a travesty.
One day hopefully in my liftime the working class of people in this country will take it back from those in washington who spend our hard earned money on people not willing to take responsibility for themselves.

[Huck]

I am with on this one.

[gcruse]

It might be like that in Hampton Roads, but in Dallas, where the want ads used to be six or eight pages, they are now half a page. Amarillo want ads are a quarter page.

And Texas isn't the worst in unemployment. That distinction belongs to Oregon and Washington. The jobs aren't out there, even if you are willing to relocate. And if you're over 50, forget it.

[FITZ]

You're mostly right. In this area thousands of jobs were lost because of NAFTA, many older women are permanently unemployed but you won't see them cleaning houses or working out in the fields. They can live off welfare and NAFTA displaced worker money till the end of their days. None have any intention of ever returning to Mexico where their jobs ended up even though that's where most came from in the first place. It's just too easy to let someone else provide a living for you.

[mabelkitty]

Welcome to Free Republic! I agree with you, and my experience with the current unemployed is exactly the same! It is very frustrating.

I have also noticed that the younger generation who was used to inflated wages in the 90s are the biggest culprit of this. I have older folks dying to get in a do something - anything.

We are doomed if this (my) generation doesn't pull themselves up by the bootstraps.