Monday, July 12, 2010

Well it is official now

As of the check I got on Saturday I no longer have any money coming in at all. I am officially living off of the money I have in the bank. And let me tell you something there is not a whole hell of a lot of that in there.
Due to the death of a congress member from Virginia I have to wait even longer to see if they will pass the unemployment extension. Not that I really have any hope at all that it will even pass.
So what now?
I continue to look for a job just like I have for the past year. I don't buy a single thing that is not needed. I pay my bills that don't stop just because I don't have money coming in.
The honey has agreed to pay for a few of the bills. PG&E, cable. Some groceries. He is trying but he also doesn't seem to think I look hard enough for a job. I don't know how I could possibly look harder but he seems to think I can.
I try to let that roll off my back but it is hard to. Being unemployed makes you start to feel paranoid a bit. To feel scared and unsure. To feel like maybe you aren't doing enough.
One of the congress members stated that for every job opening there is 5 people who are unemployed. And I live in California where the unemployment rate is 6 points higher then her state.
There is nothing I can do to change where I am though. Well nothing I am not all ready trying to do.
Its funny how you go through stages. Hopeful. Depressed. Hopeful. Scared. Depressed.
I am following the news daily and hoping for the vote that will put me back into a ok place. This place I am at right now is not ok. It is so far from ok I don't even know how to explain it.
I read today that some people believe that unemployment is like welfare. That all the unemployed people are sitting home eating bon bons and just collecting checks. That is not reality.
I wanted to share a few comments on one of the sites I visit daily so you can see for yourselves.

Comment #1
Just like other transfer payments, long term UI benefits will just create a permanent underclass who are dependant on the government for their substinance in exchange for following often reduculous rules. As a result, individuals, families and communities are sucked dry of all motivation and wait for the government to provide for them at a subsistance level.

Comment #2
As I said before unemployment insurance is just another form of income redistrubtion, taking money away from our productive members of society (those that are employed) and giving it to our unproductive members of society (unemployed). Sure there are exceptions to the blanket statement I just made but on the large scale, unemployment insurance hurts our economy more than helps it. In a free labor market, valuable workers who are unemployed should be snatched up quickly by employers, or else they will lose an advantage of having that good employee to a competitor. If someone has made mistakes and has difficulty finding a job… why should all those that are responsible and productive have to bail them out? Rewarding mistakes/bad behavior is bad for the economy.

Comment #3
I think extending unemployment does encourage laziness and less motivation. People have become dependent on the government and they see themselves entitled to their unemployment..

With people who hold this mentality I don't see any votes coming soon. I am sure there are some people who are lazy but don't punish all of us who aren't over that.

Wow.. sort of went off on a tangent there. Sorry.

Anywhoooo.... tomorrow I will post pictures of our trip to the Oakland museum.

and... I forgot to add my post to that
I have been unemployed since July 2009. I was working as an estimator in the contruction field and laid off after 3 years from this job that I loved and was good at because I was the last one hired and the construction industry tanked. It was either lay me off or go out of business. So I understood.
In this last year I have applied to hundreds and hundreds of jobs. I have cold called. I have applied to anywhere from 3 to 10 jobs per day. I have tried temporary agencys. I ask at the grocery store, the 7-11, the gas station. Anywhere I happen to go I ask if they are hiring.
In this year I have had three interviews. I got one job for three weeks that I actually ended up working myself out of. They did not have enough to keep me busy.
I want to work. I cannot afford to live on unemployment. So you who commented that unemployment makes you not look for a job are dead wrong.
My benefits ran out as of Sunday. I was no where near the 99 weeks that some got.
I am terrifed of the future. How do you continue to pay the bills that come in with no money coming in. I guess am about to find out.
I would 100% rather have a job… any job… then get unemployment.
Extending the benefit would help me. Would keep me fed. Would keep me paying my bills. Would keep my head above the water. Would keep me from ending up homeless down the road. Would keep me from begging for money for necessities.
I am not a number I am a person.
I am not lazy. I am not NOT looking for a job.

5 comments:

  1. I really wish I could help. I am blessed enough to be in a good paying job that doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. I don't know your qualifications, but I do know that temp agencies will often hire out and at least that would lend itself to SOME income if you can find one. I also don't know if reception work is something you might enjoy, but there are a lot of jobs like that around here, so maybe also there. I really hope you get something soon. I am sad for you and wish I could help in some way.

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  2. Im sorry you have to go through unemployment hell! :(

    I mentioned you on my blog!

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  3. This is such a hard situation for anyone who is not or has not been in it to understand. You did a VERY good job of explaining what you are going through. I wish there was something that I could do to help!

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  4. Like the others before me, I wish there was some way I could help. Good luck and I'll keep you in my thoughts.

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  5. Oh doll, I am so sorry you are going through this. Unemployment has it abusers just like anything else. Some people have jobs and go to work and do nothing all day, they are abusers too. But unemployment is a great thing for people like you, who have just fallen on hard times. Don't worry, things will happen, I'm sure of it. HUGS

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