Help for Unemployment on Rise…H.R. 5749

June 20th, 2008

On Wednesday June 11, 2008 many Americans failed to receive the help they needed while unemployed. This was due to the defeat of H.R. 5749. The measure fell short by just 3 votes. To add fuel to this fire, jobless benefits rose to 384,000. This was higher than expected by economists who expected a rise of only 360,000. With our economy trying to work its way out of a recession this is a much needed measure to help some of our fellow Americans.

Contrary to what many people may think, these are not lazy Americans. Many of them come from the hard working American cities that produce cars. Cities such as Detroit have unemployment figures that have reached 6.9%. As we all know this is a major shift in the automotive industry due to high gas prices and mismanagement by the big three top brass. Many people are seeking jobs that just aren’t there and those jobs will not return until our economy makes a turn out of this current recession. Earliest projections for a turnaround are not expected until mid 2009.

With a foggy economic picture there are many Americans who will need H.R. 5749 to get them through this rough time. The measure is important because it will provide support for battered Americans in hard hit local economies in the Midwest. In addition, it will provide stability to our nation as a whole.

Although HR 5749’s defeat is probably not over, with jobless claims on the rise, and an economy in a recession, politicians will have to take action as they head into an election year. Let’s hope that H.R. 5749 is passed in time to provide the much needed relief for the hard working unemployed.

Cliff Pape
Home-Buddies

rachel morgan said,

June 21, 2008 @ 9:39 am

I see thousands of high paying jobs on employment sites -

http://www.realmatch.com
http://www.monster.com
http://www.simplyhired.com

Lots of opportunity if you know where to look

REBoy said,

June 21, 2008 @ 10:08 am

There is definitely a lot of opportunity for the highly educated workforce. From a very insensitive point of view, isn’t this whole process good for the economy for the long run.

“Many people are seeking jobs that just aren’t there and those jobs will not return until our economy makes a turn out of this current recession.”

But with jobs going overseas (which helps our companies compete globally), a percentage of those jobs will never return. That percentage of the workforce is going to have to become more highly skilled just in order to survive. It’s terrible for the individuals in the short run but theoretically good for everyone in the long run. Am I right or am I just a jerk for thinking that?

I hope I get some feedback

Cliff Pape said,

June 21, 2008 @ 5:04 pm

Rachel:

Yes there are many opportunities in certain segments of the economy. In addition, people who currently are having difficulty finding jobs will eventually adapt to obtain new jobs. So given our overall economic structure Americans should make more money in the “long run.” However, in the “short run” it is good to brace for the impact of job losses and stimulate the economy at the same time.

Reboy:

Very good point Reboy, in the long run the shift in jobs is better for the American economy. However, this is only if we do not tighten our borders or raise trade barriers. Many times when job losses occur political pressure rises to tighten borders and put up trade barriers. If this occurs job loss is lowered but we become a less competitive player in the global economic game which is never good.

REBoy said,

June 23, 2008 @ 4:05 pm

well I think it is good that you are helping people

-cheers

Jason said,

June 24, 2008 @ 11:44 pm

Rachel, the majority of the jobs posted are not being hired for. I have applied for at least 150 jobs over the last 3 months, and most often what I see happening is the job posting expires and the company re-posts it without having hired anyone. Why they are doing this I do not know.

I had an interview about a month ago with a major health care company for a lead systems administrator/technical support position. They said they’d gotten hundreds of applicants and were bringing 10 of us in for interviews… They didn’t hire anyone and the job was re posted last week.

This is the worst job market of my adult life.. I have never been unemployed before for more than a few weeks- in the 90’s I went to tech school for a high tech job- as we sold off high tech to India I went back to school for a bachelors degree in Business. It hasn’t helped a bit- my income increased a little bit every year 1990-2006 and then in 2007 my income crashed from 87k per year down to 18k and this year is looking even worse than last year.

I don’t see how you can believe that the economy/job market doesn’t have something to do with this. We gave away manufacturing and shuffled everyone into high tech. Now we gave away high tech and there is not much left.

Next week I’m starting work painting houses… it sort of seems like a waste of my college degree and 15 years of IT experience, but that’s about all there is right now.

admin said,

June 25, 2008 @ 12:11 am

Hey Jason,

I just happened to be working on the site when your comment came in. Sorry to hear about your trouble. Things are tough these days which is why we are making this site the way it is. Hopefully you can get something useful out of it.

Blake
The Web Guy (the nerd behind the scenes)

admin said,

June 25, 2008 @ 12:12 am

…and thank you REBoy

Phil said,

June 26, 2008 @ 8:56 pm

Jason,

Don’t feel bad. I’m in the same boat as you. And in the IT field. I’ve applied at over 200 jobs since March 2007 (when I got laid off), and haven’t found one yet.

I tried school bus training, but unfortunately the company I was training with has a very poor safety record, so I left. They have a competitor though, and I was thinking of signing on with them, and hopefully the training will be better.

Miaay said,

June 26, 2008 @ 9:11 pm

Rachel, all of us unemployed people know where to look, believe me. The people doing the hiring are young and surround themselves with those like them. Obviously, you have a job so you have no knowledge of the employment situation this country is currently faced with!!!!!

Cliff Pape said,

June 29, 2008 @ 11:30 pm

Yes times are hard and it’s important to remember that we need legislation that supports our country’s people during this difficult time.

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