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Americans React To End Of Jobless Benefits: “I Just Don’t Know What To Do, Except Pray”

Tyler Durden's picture




 

"It's going to put my family and me out on the streets," is a perspective shared by many of the 1.3 million Americans about to lose their emergency unemployment claims. The program, started during the recession, was intended to help jobless people after they exhausted state benefits, typically lasting six months. House Republicans resisted continuing the benefits without budget cuts elsewhere to cover the cost. As Bloomberg reports, opponents say the extended benefits discourage the unemployed from accepting jobs and that the program should be curtailed, given the recovery in the nation’s labor market.

Via Bloomberg,

It lacks compassion for the victims of the recession and, economically, it’s shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Lawrence Mishel, the president of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, which backs policies that help low-income workers. “The timing is very premature. The evidence is that people who want work can’t find it.”

 

...

 

The economy has now been out of a recession for more than four years,” said Chris Edwards, an economist with the Cato Institute in Washington, which argues for scaling back the role of government. “These unemployment benefits are emergency benefits, but the economy is no longer in an emergency situation. People can find jobs if they are willing to moderate their wage demands and make compromises.”

 

...

 

“Not all of us have savings and a lot of us have to take care of family because of what happened in the economy,” said Walker, of Santa Clarita, who said she has applied for at least three jobs a week and shares an apartment with her unemployed son, his wife and two children. “It’s going to put my family and me out on the streets.”

 

...

 

There were 3.9 million job openings across the U.S. at the end of October, according to the Labor Department. That same month, 11.3 million people were looking for work but couldn’t find it, a gap advocates say underscores the need to keep benefits flowing.

 

...

 

Failure to extend the program will affect 1.9 million people who are forecast to use up their state benefits in the first half of 2014 before they can find work, according to the White House.

 

...

 

The effect will be especially pronounced in the most-populous U.S. states. In New York, 102,700 people were expected to lose their benefits on Dec. 28, said Chris White, a spokesman for the state’s labor department. In New Jersey, about 90,300 will do the same, according to estimates from Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee. More than 222,000 Californians will likewise see their benefits disappear.

 

...

 

“I understand the government doesn’t want to pay for people who are taking advantage of it,” she said. “But I am not, and many other people are not.”

 

“I just don’t know what to do, except pray.”

Of course, as we discussed in detail previously, this will mean a notable drop in the unemployment rate (for what that is worth)...

 

This has profound implications for the oh-so-important unemployment rate that  the Fed is so dependent upon...

JPM's Feroli: One observation that could set an upper bound on thinking about a participation effect is to hypothesize that all 1.3 million EUC claimants exit the labor force after benefits expire in 1Q (again, should Congress allow that to happen). In that case, the unemployment rate would fall by 0.8%-pt, obviously an extreme example. Some of the Fed studies can help to narrow the range of outcomes.

 

One of the more recent works (Farber and Valletta from the San Francisco Fed) indicates that about a fifth of long-term unemployment is due to extended benefits. With just over 4 million long-term unemployed recently, this would imply that the absence of extended UI benefits could lower the unemployment rate by 0.5%-pt.

This will directly impact the Fed's credibility to manage the economt in a "data-dependent" manner:

JPM's Feroli: Setting aside the normative aspect of whether from a public policy perspective this is a desirable or undesirable outcome, such a fall in the unemployment and participation rates could create some tricky choices for Fed policymakers as they assess the health of the labor market.

 

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Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:56 | 4286395 MeBizarro
MeBizarro's picture

GOP have been big business whores who didn't give a f@ck about the rank and file for a while now.  Democrats use to pay legit lip service to it but they haven't for a long time either as organized private labor has largely become irrevelant as a campaign contributor and organizer except in a few areas of the US. 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:21 | 4285813 gatorengineer
gatorengineer's picture

How about we end QE and cut Welfare in half at the same time.  Get the EBT crowd out of Whole Foods and Trader Joes.......

How about no EBT at McDonalds?

How about no cash payments, and back to Semis with government cheese.

 

Cut the top and bottom and maybe the middle will have a small chance

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:18 | 4285574 jughead
jughead's picture

if you need government and/or some employer to provide your income to survive, you are not free, you are a wage slave.  If you haven't got the spine God gave a jellyfish to quit being a wage slave after what, 52 weeks of sucking on the government tit, I got no sympathy for you.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:33 | 4285632 TrulyStupid
TrulyStupid's picture

How about those at the top of the pile who have been sucking the public teat for ever?  Nobel prizes all round?  record bonus season? another highly profitable non-war?

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:35 | 4285637 Ecosutra
Ecosutra's picture

I can understand how you feel about people feeling helpless to design there way out of cargo culture. This rage inside you is a projection for sure because there is no way you are free either. I suggest finding compassion in that no one is coming together building community that could bridge modernism using green energy conversion and installing mycelium into soil.

Know that we are full of grace and this frequency is way higher to recognize than the tools of your shadows that offer no gifts.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:35 | 4285651 TrulyStupid
TrulyStupid's picture

Translation please.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:56 | 4285733 barroter
barroter's picture

Just like the rich are needing Bernanke right now, enjoying his largesse at the expense of the US taxpayer.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:07 | 4285763 PrecipiceWatching
PrecipiceWatching's picture

So you OWN outright, a large plot of land which completely provides for all your corporeal needs?

Congratulations.

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:21 | 4285590 Cornholiovanderbilt
Cornholiovanderbilt's picture

Where did I put my lighter????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:26 | 4285609 denverdolomte
denverdolomte's picture

Second time I lost a high paying sales job in two years recently. Apply to 5 to 10 jobs a week, interview with some (looking for insane qualifications for entry to mid level executives) and not been landing a job.

So I have no money and need to support myself and my dog....what should I do? Depend on a system that is so fucking backasswards and can't ever pay out the right amounts and riddled with internal auditing errors that they blame others for? (Tried unemployment last time I lost my job).

NO. Walking dogs, construction jobs when contractors need help, dog food store down the road will let me work night shifts without pay under the table for a bag a dog food a month. I started a large indoor garden to cut down on food costs. Life sucks but you can't survive depending on others because as we all here at ZH know them fucks in DC don't give a fuck about us. Fuck it maybe this will work out to end my life of taxes to the .gov. 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:27 | 4285614 GrinandBearit
GrinandBearit's picture

Got ammo?

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:28 | 4285616 rockraider3
rockraider3's picture

One point that deserves to be made is the descrepancy between unemployment benefits and the minimum wage.  If unemployment benefits were lower than the minimum wage equivalent, it gives people a lot more incentive to take a job rather than stay at home and collect unemployment -- even if that job pays around the minimum wage.  However under the current system (and depending upon the location as the minimum wage can vary from spot to spot), a lot ot times unemployment benefits exceeds the minimum wage of the area and creates an environment where people benefit more by not working.

If this relationsip was right-sized, so that it would never be more beneficial to not work than to work, I think you'd see a lot more people get back to punching the clock.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:32 | 4285626 orangegeek
orangegeek's picture

ammo a few government workers and that should open up a few job opportunities

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:39 | 4285657 Shizzmoney
Shizzmoney's picture

RE

CATO's Chris Edwards: "People can find jobs if they are willing to moderate their wage demands and make compromises.”

Two words: FUCK YOU

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:50 | 4285715 barroter
barroter's picture

"Moderate wage demands"  Unilaterlly cut your own arm off for them.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:40 | 4285667 ConManipulation
ConManipulation's picture

Learn to hunt, fish, trap & farm.  Be as independant as possible.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:55 | 4285915 irie1029
irie1029's picture

Yeah Right There are too lazy to work they sure as shit can't farm or hunt.  But on the other hand it could help thin the herd.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 17:01 | 4286400 MeBizarro
MeBizarro's picture

This is viable for how many people exactly especially given where the live? 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:51 | 4285708 barroter
barroter's picture

I want to see this title.

"Rich Americans React To End Of Bernanke Benefits: “I Just Don’t Know What To Do, Except Pray"

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:53 | 4285713 Shizzmoney
Shizzmoney's picture

The Massachusetts economy now has a UE rate of 7.2%, higher than the "average" of 7% (a number which is SO skewed).

And the MA economy is supposed to be one of the BRIGHT spots!

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:47 | 4285897 silentboom
silentboom's picture

Massholes.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:48 | 4286363 madcows
madcows's picture

Massive-Two-Shits.  They've moved in to new hampshire.  god help us.

This is ou NH rep in action:

 

http://granitegrok.com/blog/2013/12/klueless-kuster-hey-that-answer-is-n...

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:52 | 4285723 Notarocketscientist
Notarocketscientist's picture

Get ready to know intimately what it is like to live in the THIRD WORLD America....

The government is bankrupt - they cannot pay benefits forever - and there are no jobs ---- well there are jobs but they pay 400 bucks a week ---- and they are in China.....

Now once the once middle class understand that they either work for 400 bucks and live like dogs --- or they starve to death --- they will likely take those jobs and be happy to have them.

Welcome to the world of globalization - where a scrap of rat meat is thrown into the fray and billions are left to fight over it... 

What a fucking total sick joke this is - if Bangladeshis have no choice but to work for a bowl of rice per day that is THEIR FUCKING PROBLEM - they can fix it themselves.

But we have allowed our governments to FUCK US.   We had reasonable standards of living - but we gave it all away lured by cheap trash cans and tshirts from places that will make them for a couple of bucks.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR PEOPLE - YOU HAVE FUCKED YOURSELVES.  AND NOW THE THIRD WORLD SHIT WILL NO LONGER BE SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS ON AN OXFAM COMMERCIAL - ITS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 17:05 | 4286414 MeBizarro
MeBizarro's picture

Go back and look at 19th century America and that is where we are headed.  Lots of people looking for work or subsisting on wages that provide little more than enough to meet basic survival levels.  Arguably already there if we didn't have the massive gov't transfer programs in place. 

The future in the US is that 15-20% of people will live pretty well.  Maybe slightly less.  The rest not so much and when the safety net/entitlement programs are cut or reduced that it will be really tough. 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 13:57 | 4285736 Notarocketscientist
Notarocketscientist's picture

Get ready to know intimately what it is like to live in the THIRD WORLD America....

The government is bankrupt - they cannot pay benefits forever - and there are no jobs ---- well there are jobs but they pay 400 bucks a week ---- and they are in China.....

Now once the once middle class understand that they either work for 400 bucks and live like dogs --- or they starve to death --- they will likely take those jobs and be happy to have them.

Welcome to the world of globalization - where a scrap of rat meat is thrown into the fray and billions are left to fight over it... 

What a fucking total sick joke this is - if Bangladeshis have no choice but to work for a bowl of rice per day that is THEIR FUCKING PROBLEM - they can fix it themselves.

But we have allowed our governments to FUCK US.   We had reasonable standards of living - but we gave it all away lured by cheap trash cans and tshirts from places that will make them for a couple of bucks.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR PEOPLE - YOU HAVE FUCKED YOURSELVES.  AND NOW THE THIRD WORLD SHIT WILL NO LONGER BE SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS ON AN OXFAM COMMERCIAL - ITS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU!

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:24 | 4285751 ZH11
ZH11's picture

 

These fuckers need to learn some discipline, you cant just keep expecting free money off the government. No one has a God given right to receive money from the government for free. You have to earn your money and if you fail it's your fault!

If you can't get yourself back on track within a few months you only have yourself to blame!

 

QE1 - £600Bn MBS, £750Bn MBS & $300Bn Treasury Securities - December 2008 - March 2010 

QE2 - £600Bn Treasury Securities - November 2010 - June 2011

Operation Twist - $400Bn & $267Bn Govnt. Bonds - September 2011 - Undef. 2012

QE3 - $40bn per month in MBS & $45 in Treasury Securities - September 2012 - to date

 


Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:12 | 4285783 muleskinner
muleskinner's picture

Sometimes, prayer ain't worth a damn.

I pray for some sleep at night and I pray that the Grim Reaper doesn't come knocking too soon. When I awake, my prayers have been answered.

No other reason to pray.

Dear Lord, please help me find a job.

The right prayer to pray for those who need a job.

Thank you, Jesus.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:20 | 4285820 ak_khanna
ak_khanna's picture

It is not in the interest of any elected politician to work for the benefit of the majority of the population. The bottom 98% of the population do not fund the election campaigns of the candidates nor do they provide them jobs with obscene salaries once they leave the positions of power like Timmy boy.

So why would the politicians waste their time working for the middle class and the poor from whom they do not derive any personal benefit? The only activity they do is pacify the majority of the population using false statistics and promises of a better future so that they do not lynch them and their sponsors while they are robbing the taxpayers.

www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article32741.html

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:25 | 4285823 SimpleSimon
SimpleSimon's picture

What the givernment will do for you, while taxing you and borrowing just a little to "pay" for it...

The government can and will take away from you, while continuing to tax and borrow a lot more...

Unemployment benefits, SS, Medicare, Obamacare, ad nauseum....yet the sheeple will never learn.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:24 | 4285828 Dark Space
Dark Space's picture

I'm surprised ZH fails to point out that the lady in the story from Santa Clarita with 3 adults and 2 children sharing an apartment lives in one of the lowest unemployment rate cities in the state with just 6.3% compared to a statewide unemployment rate of 8.9%. I guess you can interpret that a lot of different ways, but I find it pretty hard to believe that not one of the three adults have been looking for work and none of them have found a job. However, if that is the case then statistically, they are an anomaly.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 20:20 | 4286931 ronaldawg
ronaldawg's picture

or a fucking made up sob story to pull your strings to blame the mean repubs for not extending more free shit.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:27 | 4285830 Stinko da Munk
Stinko da Munk's picture

I lost my job but I opened up a Nigerian Email Distribution Service and now make $10k a week from the comfort of my home. Franchises available from my deposed brother in law who inherited a fortune and needs your help to get the funds out of the country.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:25 | 4285831 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

Extend them for how much longer?  These people were no longer unemployed after a year.  They are on welfare and for all you idiots that speak about lack of compassion where is welfare being cut off?

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:31 | 4285851 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

No one exhausts their Federal unemployment benefits without first exhausting their state benefits. So you are looking at someone who has been incapable of finding ANY work in at least one year.  That is a LONG time - and is an insult to the people who buckled their chin straps and are working two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet.  The clue that the long term unemployed need to get is that things are NOT going back to normal any time soon.  If you have assets, you will need to liquidate them and go full speed into Welfare (SSI) and Medicaid.  You will have to down size your house or apartment.  If that is not appealing, then start working 50-60 hours a week for minimum wage and hit the rest of the social safety net.  This is the new reality if you want to live in a country with Obamacare, OSHA, EPA, tax loopholes, unpayable deficits/debt, and all the other 'freedoms' that are now enjoyed in the US.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:35 | 4285856 Walt D.
Walt D.'s picture

The government is not doing anyone a favor by keeping them on unemployment benefits for 2 years. The longer you are unemployed, the more difficult it is to get back into the workplace - most employers will not even look at your resume if you have been out of work for 2 years. 60 Minutes had a good show on this a while back. They showed an experimental program where people were paid for 6 months to work for free in a business. After 6 months, many of the participants were converted to full time jobs.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:40 | 4285868 TheMayor
TheMayor's picture

>I Just Don’t Know What To Do, Except Pray

Right, because actually looking for and accepting a job is too much trouble.

There are millions and millions of unfilled jobs out there, get off your ass and go get 1 or 2 of them.

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:41 | 4285872 TheMayor
TheMayor's picture

>It's going to put my family and me out on the streets

Maybe you should have thought of that before you had children you can ill afford to support?

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:59 | 4285933 silentboom
silentboom's picture

Or bought that Escalade and new appliances no money down.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 20:20 | 4286937 ronaldawg
ronaldawg's picture

I like the story of those people nearing retirement with NO savings.   What the fuck have you been doing for 45 years?

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:18 | 4286024 Ckierst1
Ckierst1's picture

Three able bodied adults and they're all press'in hams and helpless and pathetic.  I wonder if any of them even had the moxie to pick up a college degree.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:29 | 4286055 TradingTroll
TradingTroll's picture

You know, you're right. Teach those kids to kill, lie and steal, just like the people who run this country, and we'll be fine. Need a job as banker but someone is in the position. There's a weapon for that. Need a job managing contrusction but someone has it. There's a weapon for that.

 

So, The Mayor, does your family have jobs? You're so confident, why not give us names and addresses?

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 20:13 | 4286909 ILikeBoats
ILikeBoats's picture

That is possibly unfair, in that no one can see the future.  I don't know the background of the person quoted, but if the USA govt shut down X industry due to e.g. restrictive new regulations, how could he foresee that, or even fight it if he did foresee it?

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:53 | 4285883 Obama_4_Dictator
Obama_4_Dictator's picture

Just a help FYI - I was having a hard time finding employment and getting interviews.  I used this resume service and was able to get the job I wanted, quickly.  You can sit on your ass, like most Americans and blame others for your problems or you can do something different if things are't working out....

 

http://www.resumemend.com/

 

 

Edit: I talekd to the owner for a bit, turns out he feels the same way we all do, He sarcastically said Obama was the best thing that ever happened to him (because he destroyed the econonmy so badly, that everyone needs a good resume).  He said when he tells people that, they either get it and laugh, or it takes them awhile and then they get it and get upsert. LOL

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:51 | 4285902 TheFulishBastid
TheFulishBastid's picture

lol I see the good ol' "FUCK YOU I GOT MINE." mentality is alive and well on ZH today.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:53 | 4285908 wisehiney
wisehiney's picture

You will have that after years of ignored advice.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:53 | 4285917 wonderatitall
wonderatitall's picture

i want yours. for  fairness i mean 

silly asshole

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 14:51 | 4285912 wonderatitall
wonderatitall's picture

well it is good for you. if you are unemployed obamacare is freee you lucky bastard. we nazis ,i mean democrats cant wait to fine those who dont have his lords monstosity. at least you will be spared the democrat guillotine.  everything is  good in obamamerica for the poor . damn those who shirk his majesty and try and live their own life , WE DONT ALLOW SUCH TOMFOOLERY.  long live the sun god and death  to anyone without a onesie.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:02 | 4285949 kurt
kurt's picture

Just a quick note:

 

FUCK YOU CON GRESS

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:04 | 4285965 Solarman
Solarman's picture

In California, there is so much off book that this won't matter too much.  My Brother in law is an employee of a company HE OWNS.  Laid he and his wife off, TWICE.  Collected their full share of benefits and then as hired back to the company HE OWNS.

The ethnic (Mexicans, Persians, Chaldeans, and Armenians) business owners I know can teach many of us how to survive in this new world of corporate control.  They use as much cash as possible, and milk every single tax credit, and hire as much off book, as possible.

Folks need to get creative, start a S or C Corp, barter everything you can.  Pay everything with a electronic trail sell everything you can in cash or trade.

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 20:26 | 4286949 ronaldawg
ronaldawg's picture

Brother in law in Ohio does same thing.  Owns roofing company, on welfare in winter, does jobs for cash.  Audited every year, State can't find anything.  Owns two houses free and clear..

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:08 | 4285971 Wtfcity
Wtfcity's picture

Some of you people are hilarious. There are people that abuse the system but for the most part the jobs have dried up. I'm here in the Triad area of N.C. and the manufacturing base here has been decimated in the past 7 or 8 yrs. People are desperate. People stay in school getting multiple degrees piling up debt only to find a minimum wage job if they are lucky. Good luck finding a job without connections. Illegal immigrants flooding and undercutting the job market and those fresh out of highschool are just out of luck. Yet they have 85 billion a month for the banks. I wish this thing would get to the conclusion. More people are awake than what the government thinks. More and more people know the media lies because it doesnt match what they see around them every day. All of these ass clowns who are responsible for this mess will eventually be held responsible. ALL OF THEM. Politicians, media, bankers, and all of their disgusting ilk. This thing only has 2 or 3 outcomes none of them good.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:08 | 4285972 Wtfcity
Wtfcity's picture

Some of you people are hilarious. There are people that abuse the system but for the most part the jobs have dried up. I'm here in the Triad area of N.C. and the manufacturing base here has been decimated in the past 7 or 8 yrs. People are desperate. People stay in school getting multiple degrees piling up debt only to find a minimum wage job if they are lucky. Good luck finding a job without connections. Illegal immigrants flooding and undercutting the job market and those fresh out of highschool are just out of luck. Yet they have 85 billion a month for the banks. I wish this thing would get to the conclusion. More people are awake than what the government thinks. More and more people know the media lies because it doesnt match what they see around them every day. All of these ass clowns who are responsible for this mess will eventually be held responsible. ALL OF THEM. Politicians, media, bankers, and all of their disgusting ilk. This thing only has 2 or 3 outcomes none of them good.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:15 | 4286006 SilverFish
SilverFish's picture

Not to worry, my jobless friends.

 

I have the answer, right here in my greazy little hands. Just have some guts and you will be millionaire!!!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQNdi-fRExc

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 15:38 | 4289204 wtf1369
wtf1369's picture

Too funny. I remember that cat from the 90's. I'd catch his infomercials at like 0300, long after last call.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:26 | 4286047 Jack Burton
Jack Burton's picture

So many comments here that I can't wade through them all, that thing called Work keeps getting in the way. But listen, I count myself fucking lucky to have the job I do and my small business. I mean both are nothing to brag about, simply a guy seeking everyway to stay middle class. Two things I can't figure out, therre are few really good jobs open to people. Yet I see so much consumer spending! 

My family is a good cross section of America. A disabled Iraq war veteran collecting 50% disability from Uncle Sam. A 20 something with her first real job at a major retailer's corporate headquarters, but it pays only $14 an hour and requires a college degree and several years retail management experince. She only got the job because a friend works there and has an uncle in upper management. In short, strings were pulled. I have a retired teacher and wife living really, really good on their teachers retirement, Social Security, and matching funds 401K pensions. That is 6 pensions coming into one household folks. That is called living good! I have a member who lost his construction job in 2008, struggled on unemployment for 2 years +, he was saved by his father who runs a growing small business and was able to hire the son as a store manager, for 40K a year. Again, connections are EVERYTHING is this economy. We have a young member with a college degree, no jobs and found a temp gig for $10 and hour. He is looking to leave the country. There are no bums or drug users in the family. All in all those who are better off have used family or friends connections to get good work. The others got government work. Those without a government job or an inside connection to get a job are pretty much fucked. I mean it, those who throw stones at unemployed should be part of that 8 million for whom NO job exists. Fuck, I know some people are hopeless, but I have met few unwilling to work for any type of decent wage. I mean, 7 dollars and hour, or minimum wage. easy to say Go Work That Job, at the end of the fucking month, you can't fucking live on that, and everyone taking a piss on the poor people know that and ignore that fact! Jesus. Look at labor force participation at record fucking lows! Yet still 8 million people have Zero job prospects, ZERO!

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:35 | 4286082 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

I was with you up until you went on that minimum wage rant.  This is another issue with society.  You can't start at the top or even the middle, you start at the bottom and "work" (there's that word again) work your way up.  You may have worked at something for 10 or 20 years but if that type of labor is no longer around, you need to change careers and that means starting at the bottom.

I tell my kids, you need a skill that, one, people need and will pay for you to do, and two, if you expect a decent wage, it needs to be something most other people can't do or won't do.

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 14:26 | 4288950 PT
Tue, 12/31/2013 - 00:49 | 4287494 Nick Jihad
Nick Jihad's picture

Very well said. A lot of posters have their pet policy change, that they're sure will put everything right. Just like Obama in 2008 - you just know, that he was sure in his gut that things would turn right around, once his policies were in place. So i'll refrain from voicing my own remedies.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:41 | 4286105 kekekekekekeke
kekekekekekeke's picture

zhedge I got a $10k check for xmas

what do I do with it?

buy gold/silver

or a snow cone stand

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:49 | 4286143 Haager
Haager's picture

Snow cones, for sure. Big margins, just accept more than only $$ like maybe silver coins or services from your clients.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:51 | 4286152 kekekekekekeke
kekekekekekeke's picture

i do live in Houston it's summer 10 months out of the year here

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:46 | 4286127 Sach Mahoney
Sach Mahoney's picture

It's a sad day in America when we cheer an unemployement rate dropping because of the way we count the unemployed...that they are off benefits and off the grid, so we can't count them anymore?????  It's laughable.  To keep the printing presses running, our politicians will surely change 'again' how we calculate unemployment so that we can keep the unemployment rate high where it should be and then therefore help the FED continue to print money.  

Nobody wants to hurt these people.  The sad fact is many have abused their emergency benefites privledges.  I heard from some business owners how they offered work to people that was maybe around equal to their unemplyemnet benefits and the unemployed person would turn the job down. "Why work and make a little less, instead of collecting from Gov't and taking it easy". That sadly is how many think.  Take that option away and then maybe those folks will feel differently....  

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:10 | 4286224 cornflakesdisease
cornflakesdisease's picture

Sad, but true. I know several "unemployed" people who collect unemployment and work under the table.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:49 | 4286378 the0ther
the0ther's picture

I know a lot of bankers and war profiteers who take a lot of money from the  government, who don't do any work either.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:55 | 4286392 Westcoastliberal
Westcoastliberal's picture

What would you do if taking that job that more or less equals your unemployment benefits means you must now pay for child care resulting in a net loss?  That's the sad fact many people face in this shit economy.

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 00:56 | 4287499 Nick Jihad
Nick Jihad's picture

It's sad, but I would take the job. Unless you plan to spend the rest of your life on UE, you need to consider how it will look to a prospective employer, if you spent the last two and half years collecting benefits.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 15:59 | 4286184 canstacker
Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:15 | 4286235 10mm
10mm's picture

1.3 million by Sat night. Another 1.6 million by end of July 2014. Another 1.9 million by end of yr 2014.

www.shtf.com

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:23 | 4286272 MrBoompi
MrBoompi's picture

Republicans never care about spending money we don't have when it comes to war, defense contractors, or Wall Street.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 17:08 | 4286420 MeBizarro
MeBizarro's picture

Big business in general.  Democrats too as the money and campaign contributions just slosh in slightly different ways each major campaign cycle since the 90s. 

Social conservatives are the pukes who drive me the craziest.  They talk about 'family values' and the US has some of the worst family benefit and policies of any industrialized nation in the world.  Hell, we are one of the only nations in the world which doesn't mandate some level of paid maternity leave for employers  There are literally less than a dozen on the globe. 

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 01:00 | 4287506 Nick Jihad
Nick Jihad's picture

Those aren't "family" benefits. Those are "reward single moms for destroying their family" benefits.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:27 | 4286286 the not so migh...
the not so mighty maximiza's picture

i am of 2 minds, yeah they abuse unemployemnt , but what about the freakin 85 billion a month you phony crony capitalist pigs

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 16:51 | 4286382 Westcoastliberal
Westcoastliberal's picture

Wow, some of you guys are sure cold-hearted bastards, aren't you?  This "let them eat cake" attitude will not have a happy ending, and the truth is there has been no "recovery" of the economy at all.  When the government just shunts unemployed workers out of the calculations every month, of course the "official rate" goes down.  Ask John Williams over at Shadowstats what the "real" unemployment rate is and he'll tell you it's somewhere higher than 20%.

Like Gerald Celente is found of saying, when people lose everything....they lose it.  Hope you're not in the crosshairs, douches.

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 01:04 | 4287512 Nick Jihad
Nick Jihad's picture

Well, how much did you contribute to charity this year? Since you're not a cold-hearted douche, I presume you gave every dollar you could spare to your local food bank?

No?  But you did vote for a politician who promised to take money from the rich, and give it to the needy, and that's morally the same thing?  Look in the mirror, douche.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 17:10 | 4286424 moneybots
moneybots's picture

Cato Institute “These unemployment benefits are emergency benefits, but the economy is no longer in an emergency situation. People can find jobs if they are willing to moderate their wage demands and make compromises.”

 

Denninger notes that if the employment rate of the population returned to where it was pre crash, there woould be 8 million more jobs than there are.

There simply are not enough jobs out there, moderation of wage demands or not.

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 17:11 | 4286430 MeBizarro
MeBizarro's picture

America is just going full circle slowly and we are gradually destroying what was put in place in the 20th century through a lot of social strife and struggle.  The only difference is that we are still able to paper over it with massive deficit spending and cash transfers.  

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 17:14 | 4286448 MeBizarro
MeBizarro's picture

Of course this was done at Christmas too.  There are some people inevitably abusing this system and delaying taking employment but that isn't the majority from just about everything credible I have read. 

Simply is quite difficult to get hired if you are in your 40s/50s even for vocational/menial jobs. 

It is the ultimate point of free trade and the globalization system which was put into place at the end of the Cold War in the late 80s.  If you own capital, the best thing in the world is to be able to move production to places where the overall cost of production is cheap, tax arbitrage opportunities abound, and employees have no recourse to respond because they either can't vote or if they can are co-opted, imprisoned, or killed.  Trying organizing a private labor union or even a protest in much of the developing world including Russia or China.  You either be imprisoned or killed flat out and quickly too. 

 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 17:23 | 4286460 MeBizarro
MeBizarro's picture

If you want to pray, great.  It does have several health benefits but as I was told by my grandfather growing up who wasn't a fan organized religion, 'Try praying at the table and wait to see if God puts food on the table.' 

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 18:40 | 4286649 thurstjo63
thurstjo63's picture

LOL! Truly breathtaking. While they prop up the bankers, bond and stock market to the tune of $85 billion per month, they cut benefits to the unemployed. You cannot make this stuff up!!!

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 19:26 | 4286781 mumbo_jumbo
mumbo_jumbo's picture

LOL!!! damn, the comments crack me up.  ya'll talk about freeloader this and lazy ass that and yet Ben is sending $85,000,000,000 a month to wallstreet banks FOR FREE!!!

the amount we'd save cutting these benifits is a rounding error and unemployment pays better

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 01:05 | 4287529 Nick Jihad
Nick Jihad's picture

Please point out the comments you read, endorsing Ben Bernanke and QE. I didn't see any.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 19:23 | 4286784 nwcruiser
nwcruiser's picture

DHS has been getting ready for a while now for the coming population unrest that is coming and with the energy price only going up it is going to get ugly.

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 20:44 | 4286992 Big Johnson
Big Johnson's picture

Get a job and get out of my wallet .

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 22:35 | 4287224 gdpetti
gdpetti's picture

Are you talking to Uncle Sam? The NSA, CIA, FBI? Why do you think that wallet is yours? Of course, that's always been part of the 'program'. You do know what comes next, right? Historically, it's called 'pulling the rug', and the puppets are only here to lead us over the cliff of confusion. Mother Nature will clean up the mess in a few more months. Cycles, they are everywhere and once you see the pattern, you will find it everywhere. Some cycles are just much, much longer than others. We are lucky to live at the end point of this cyclical convergence. Should be a hell of a show, enjoy the ride!

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 06:44 | 4287760 dreadnaught
dreadnaught's picture

lol...how can 10,000,000 unemployed people find work if only 300,000 jobs are available to fill?  and then at $8.50/hour?---shit, GET A LIFE!

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 09:43 | 4287919 Old Poor Richard
Old Poor Richard's picture

Oops, should have thought of that and went out and found a job earlier, before you had 10 million others doing the same thing.

Extend and pretend had to end badly, and now it has.

 

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 09:37 | 4287904 BLUEJAY1111
BLUEJAY1111's picture

"Be As It May" - Upasni Maharaj

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsWdpQOnRFY

 

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