What will happen when all the folks who are on unemployment get cut off?

[Klukie]

My guess is that they will be forced into a job market with no living wage paying jobs, which will cause a battle for all existing jobs, which will create an Employers market...one where they are able to pay less wages for more work because after all, they will have plenty of qualified applicants to choose from. Just some thoughts.

[de novo]

1. We get to quit counting them as unemployed, right?

[bighart]

44. Which means the "official" unemployment percent will drop,

possibly under 9%, and some will take that as "encouraging sign the economy is turning around". Mean while misery and desperation will grow.
If you look at the employment numbers and the income levels of DC and the surrounding areas it isn't hard to figure out why these politicians are out of touch with the real America, they live and work in an artificially insulated bubble.

[elehhhhna]

2. some will "go postal", suicides will surge, murders will occur.

Bank on it.

[saigon68]

10. maybe some of the anger will be directed at the opressors who put them there

[jberryhill]

19. Unlikely

[butterfly77]

38. likely..

[battycoda]

14. The fear is palpable.

I work with a local non-denominational mission that helps the un- and under-employed. We have several chapters all over SE PA, and we are seeing an unprecedented level of despair and hopelessness; the holidays and cold weather are making it worse. There are a lot of people who are on a razor margin, and I suspect we are going to see a lot of suicides, people who freeze because they can't pay their heat/electric bills and starvation.

There's already a lot of desperation.

[dana_b]

42. horrible

in the meantime, Congress gets to go off to their wonderful holiday vacations while the people that they "represent" are cold and hungry.

btw - good for you for all that you do for others and welcome to DU. :)

[Skittles]

54. must be very hard for you

battycoda, perhaps you can give tips for how people of means can help

[xchrom]

3. It's gonna get interesting. Nt

[geckosfeet]

4. It is already an employers market. And the propaganda is that there are jobs,

but people cannot afford to travel and move or sell their houses (underwater, no clear title from banks etc. etc.).

State and local municipalities will end up taking up the slack, just like they have been doing for the last 10 years. When the federal government sheds it responsibility, it falls to state and local governments.

[Klukie]

7. You are right it already is an employers market...

I just think it is about to get a whole lot worse and every man will be fighting for their jobs.

[geckosfeet]

9. Fighting not only for their jobs, but for money, food, housing, water and essentials.

Not to be too pessimistic, but it will be chaos.

Agreed - the doo doo is about to hit the fan.

[abluelady]

16. You Took the Word Right Out of My Mouth

I don't think chaos is a pessimistic word at all. I think it will be the new reality. I worry about Hoover towns popping up again.

[BeFree]

35. Bushvilles

We already have them popping up. It's the only growth market that I can see.

Bushville after bust.

[ProudDad]

48. They're called Obama-villes now...

He could have done something substantial for the working classes...

But it was MUCH more important to prop up the banksters...

Great choice in staffing your "economic team" with Goldman Sachs...

[Barack_America]

5. We're already in that "Employers market" you speak of.

And have been for some time.

[Klukie]

8. You are right

and I think with an additional flood of 2 million people hitting the streets the shit is about to hit the fan in a very visible way.

[Skittles]

55. CORRECT

which is why they are working to death those of us who manage to stay employed

[ipaint]

6. Poverty, homeless, foodstamps, begging, suicide, split up families

etc, etc.

Not everyone owns a home, so no rent= no shelter. If you are over 50 and unemployed, you have been forcibly retired permanently whether you have the funds or not. As one who doesn't have the funds and has exhausted benefits homelessness is next.

This has been happening to the long term unemployed for months now. This latest failure to pass extensions just adds to the already growing numbers of people who have exhausted all benefits and can't find work.

[eridani]

11. It "will" happen? It is already happening

What will happen is that the situation will get a lot worse.

[Ozymanithrax]

12. They will go hungry...

There are not enough McDonalds to hire them all.

[OHdem10]

13. Angle as well as mainstream Republicans have been shrieking

there are jobs, ---the people would rather take unemployment inusurance
payout. IMO, this is cruel, but it tells you where things are
going.

Already you have former mgrs, engineers etc taking jobs at
Target.

Banana Republic is no joke, my Friends.

[Wednesdays]

20. My signature:

"To a conservative, a recession is when millions of workers suddenly decide to become lazy and irresponsible."

[piratefish08]

15. the unemployment rate will drop. Victory!

:sarcasm:

[democrat_patriot]

17. They lose everything. Get angry. Vote Republican.

Just like in November.

I have zero sympathy for anyone unemployed that voted Republican. They broke, they bought it.

I feel DEEP sympathy for anyone who voted for a Democratic candidate, they needed help and were told to die by the Republican party.

[butterfly77]

40. +1

[Altoid_Cyclist]

18. This is part of a FB exchange with a woman that I graduated with.

In the coming months, around 250,000 people here in PA will lose their UC benefits if the extension fails to get passed. This is what it is like for one couple. Both are in their 50's and have always worked hard to provide for their family.

If I hear one more politician (D or R) announce that the economy is healthy and that the unemployed choose to be unemployed, I'm going to be more than angry. PA will now be run by the reptiles like Corbett who said that everyone can find a job if they're not too lazy to work. Corbett, Toomey, Shuster et al can kiss the fattest part of my ass!!

This is what the couple is facing with the holidays upon us.



"Anyway, things are tight financially here, too, but ---- and I are trying to make it a good holiday season. My daughter sent us a coupon for a Thanksgiving turkey (that was a little embarrassing because we are supposed to be taking care of she and her brother, but what could we do?)

---- and I went to Wal-Mart this evening so that I could get a money order to pay on my credit card bill, and we were looking at sweatshirts and jackets for my son and son-in-law while we were there. I really don't know what to do about Christmas. My in-laws keep saying that they just want to spend time with us, but it still hurts because we can't buy like we did other years.

Last year, ---- and I were both working and it was so easy just to go to the stores and buy for everyone. Now we read that unemployment is going to run out next week. How are we going to pay our bills?

I'm trying not to worry, and to stay positive, but it's really hard, especially when both of my children want to lend us money to pay the bills. We really don't want to borrow money from anyone but least of all from our children. We are supposed to take care of them, not the other way around, right?"

[Klukie]

22. This is what we all could be facing....

The question is...we will pull together as a nation or fight one another? I have a feeling that there will be a lot of fighting, but I am trying to keep the faith.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

36. This is a poll in today's local paper. It's part way down on the left side.

http://www.altoonamirror.com/

If you want to see the type of morons that are way too numerous around here, read the comments. These are the same RW jerks who had no problem with the shrub starting two wars costing us billions of dollars each month.

I'd like to see these fat, beer swilling, racist, and hate filled slobs try to locate a job if it's so F***ing easy to do. One of them also has a problem with people like myself who are retired on SS Disability.

Teabagger mentality is strong in this area. It smells just like a fresh road killed skunk.

[ProudDad]

49. Teabagger mentality is strong everwhere...

Ripe for fascism...

[Altoid_Cyclist]

60. It makes me sad to have to agree with you.

The baggers have been given too much free airtime thanks to Faux News and other RW outlets. They remind me of a cult in the way that they target the insecure and uninformed members of society and promise them that only they have the answer. Other than hate and racism, I really don't see what the TP has to offer.

[Skittles]

56. could you tell her

don't be too proud to accept help from her kids - they wouldn't offer if they couldn't afford it and it is stressful for kids to see their parents' stress

[Altoid_Cyclist]

59. That's exactly what I told her.

Well, actually, this is what I said.

As far as being upset that you can't buy your family much for Christmas, I'm sure that they understand. If they are willing to help the two of you out financially, that's what families are for. You were always there for them, so there is no reason to feel guilty if they offer to help. I would accept the offer if it enables you to make ends meet until things get better.

I'm really hoping that the government gets their head out of their butt and extends the UC benefits. There are so many people such as yourselves who did nothing wrong who will be hurt. I don't care what the politicians say, THE JOBS ARE NOT OUT THERE!!!
People our age are especially discriminated against.

I know that it's difficult, but the two of you just have to remain as strong as possible with all that you're going through. Don't do what I did and let it affect your marriage. It's easy for me to say, but just keep reminding yourselves that you have each other and your families.



I almost destroyed my marriage and I guarantee that this meltdown has destroyed an untold number of families already. The Banksters and politicans will have a great holiday season. The rest of us......MEH!!!
We are increasingly being relegated to the delete files.

[Skittles]

61. good advice

also, yeah, the natural order of things is parents helping their kids, but these are not normal times. I've had to say that to many a friend who felt like failures for taking huge pay cuts to get jobs. Simply put, you do what you have to do, and lean on those who can help.

[ashleyforachange]

21. Even though I was secretly denied unemployment....

a lot of people will be like me... student loan payments piling, bill collectors calling every five minutes, and no hope in sight. People say there are a job market but only if you live in a lucky part of the country. I live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and there is not a lot of opportunities for me here nor can I move somewhere because that require a significant amount of money. I even tried applying to McDonald's once told me I was over qualified for most positions and not qualified for leadership positions. I am surprise I haven't gone postal on someone yet.

[Still a Democrat]

23. This is one thing that should have motivated liberals on election day

I wish it had, to a greater extent, anyway.

[Lucky 13]

26. Why? Because unemployment is improving?

I'm not saying Dems aren't BETTER equipped to fix it... I'm just saying to the American people, they've seen no improvement in unemployment rates under Democratic leadership. Besides the argument "we're working on it", what else can we tell them?

[Still a Democrat]

28. The article is about unemployment compensation being cut off

It's crystal clear where the parties stand on that. Preventing this should have been motivation enough for a progressive.

As for the unemployment rate making the Democrats a tougher sell to the general electorate, I agree.

[Skittles]

58. hang in there ashley

we cannot let these bastards beat us, we have to keep fighting. For your bills you cannot afford to pay, find a way to send them SOMETHING - even if it is 5 bucks - bill collectors go after the people not communicating at all first. I really feel for the younger folk who have not had the time to build a cushion before the bricks started falling. :(

[grace0418]

24. Six of the last 8 years I worked at my previous company were an employer's market.

I would never have worked there 8 years if it wasn't. My CEO knew this an used it as an opportunity to screw each and every one of us as much as possible. Don't like it? Then quit, there will be someone else willing to take your job for less money.

One friend got fired when she was 8 months pregnant (with a 2 year old at home) for no other reason than they didn't want to pay for her maternity leave. She could have sued but didn't have the time, energy or money to do it, knowing of course it would take years and the lawyers would get most of the money (which I'm sure CEO figured this). Another friend got fired the week she came back from maternity leave (after paying for a week of day care). One married couple who'd just bought a house and were expecting their first child BOTH got laid off the same day. Their boss knew all this but stood by while it happened because she is as cruel as the CEO.

The fun wasn't reserved for those getting laid off either. When I got laid off (less than two weeks before Christmas during the worst of the recession), I was laid off with 8 others in my department. Our department wasn't doing that poorly either, considering the economy, the CEO just figured he could force everyone left to do the same amount of work for less money. And he was right. Those four women got their benefits slashed, and bonuses and raises taken away entirely, and were expected to start working 12-16 hour days plus weekends to get the work of 12 people done. Overtime pay? HA! They were also the four women who never spoke up about anything no matter what so I'm sure they were chosen because they never stood up for themselves (and because three of the four of them were paid less than everyone else). The really bizarre part was that the CEO only saw fit to lay off one manager. So a department of four people has three direct managers. He must really like having all those managers/sycophants stroking his ego for hours every day in meetings. That's the only thing I can figure.

I guess I got the last laugh in some ways. I don't have to deal with that poisonous environment any more. And I know for a fact I made far more money as an independent this past year than my manager did working at that shitty job. But others that got laid off with me were not so lucky.

CEOs like my former boss have been using the economy to prey on employees for years. You hear about company owners who take a pay cut so they don't have to lay anyone off, but I think far more will use the slightest dip in profits to justify screwing over everyone.

[Klukie]

25. These corporations are eating this country....but the problem is..

that we have all come to depend on them and fuel them to an extent. Some more than others. As a nation we need to downsize. We need to keep control of our economy in the local arena because these monster entities that we have all participated in are incapable of being held to account. It makes me very sad.

[grace0418]

29. Universal Heathcare. I can name you 20 people I know who would quit their shitty

jobs and be very successful as freelancers if they just could figure out how to get healthcare. I'm lucky because I'm on my husband's insurance. And I do have two friends who make enough as freelancers to cover the added expense of insurance. But I know so many more stuck in horrible jobs that they hate because they can't afford to lose their insurance. The best way for us to take power away from the corporations are to not let them have a stranglehold on who gets healtcare.

[Yavin4]

43. Everyone Not Working There Is Better Off

No matter how hard they may have it, they're better off. It's better to be on your feet fighting and surviving than to be a whipped animal cowering in the corner.

Why? Because that company is toxic. If they treat their employees like crap, guess how they treat their suppliers, creditors, and customers. I wouldn't be surprised if your former employer is getting the shit sued out him now.

The people that remained won't have their jobs for much longer, and the people who were let go at least have a head start on looking for better jobs.

[grace0418]

45. I couldn't agree more. I know I've been extremely lucky but I can't imagine how miserable

I would be if I were one of the few still there.

When I was still there, the stress of the job and the poisonous environment was compounded by the stress of wondering when your number was going to be up. Heaven forbid the CEO take one less vacation or buy one less piece of art and allow a few employees to work through the New Year rather than firing them at the absolute worst time of the year to find a job in the worst economy we've seen in generations. I tell you, I was happy not to be there any more but that is still one of the shittiest things I've seen in a long time. I remember at the meeting when they were firing us en masse (yep, en masse), I said in a stage whisper "Happy Holidays everyone!" and the VP reprimanded me "Now Grace, don't be like that" like I had just lost a game of scrabble and was being a sore loser. I wanted to say "Listen bitch, don't tell me how I should be until you've lost your job two weeks before Christmas when your salary was barely covering the bills as it was."

The company does treat everyone like crap, ripping everyone off left and right. The CEO has been sued a bunch of times (even by his own brother) but he keeps a bunch of lawyers at his disposal and can pretty much bury every lawsuit in so much legal red tape that it goes away. When I worked there we spent a fair amount of time "adjusting" products so they were just different enough to avoid a lawsuit. Oh but the time Target ripped of one of our products and had it produced in China, you should have seen how indignant he got.

It's only a matter of time before all the people there suffer the same fate I did. I hope it's not at too terrible a time. I'm actually worried because two of the women left in my former department are pregnant and due in January. Pregnancy seems to be one of the CEO's favorite excuses to cut costs. So instead of getting a couple of months to be with their babies and getting some money, they'll be looking for work instead. I hope I'm wrong but I wouldn't be surprised at all to be right.

[Javaman]

27. Google "bread lines" to get your answer.

that's the "good old days" the repukes want to return to.

[InkAddict]

30. Nearly every day, I can be heard muttering....

I wish they would just shoot us already...it would be a kindness. Unfortunately, I think the outrage that assasination/mass starvation would bring will last about 20 minutes as others are encouraged to just move on with their endangered lives.

[_ed_]

31. It's also connected to healthcare

My wife and I run a small internet business, and we're in a position where we really could use to hire a third person. Unfortunately, my wife has a BS pre-existing condition, so we can't get affordable healthcare. We were denied by all companies but one, so we're at the mercy of whatever premiums they want to charge. They've gone up three times in the past year.

Consequently, we just can't hire an employee. We can't afford it because of healthcare costs. Plus, since we're an actual small business with two employees, we get taxed at ~36% when you consider all taxes. GE paid no tax last year. Exxon got a refund.

So, when Obama says we're supposed to be patient until 2014 when the pre-existing condition clause kicks in, it really pisses me off. Healthcare costs are dragging us down: we might not make it until 2014. And, it also affects the hypothetical employee that we can't hire.

But, hey, Obama's buddies on Wall Street are all taken care of. Mission Accomplished, hang the banner.

[adigal]

32. I worry about them all of the time

Isn't there a tent city out in California on the Sacramento river? They were moved, but still...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/us/26sacramento.html

In my area, where it is freezing cold, where will these people go when they have no money for rent??? God help these poor people.

[XemaSab]

57. It's freezing in California tonight

It was supposed to get down to 22, but they changed the forecast to 29. Either way, most people camping out in tents in California just aren't prepared for the cold like that. :(

[morningglory]

33. Well, for starters, food stamps, Medicaid, etc. or we could let

them starve and die in the streets. That seems like it would help with the Never Tax Anyone GOP agenda. (sarcasm)

[elehhhhna]

34. I work in staffing-- it's been an employers market for years.

That's why there's been no increase in wages since, like, forever.

[mstinamotorcity]

37. Thoughts are good ones

maybe they will be thinking about the lovely day they had on November 2, 2010 when they were enjoying the day instead of taking the ten minutes out to walk to the voting booths. I know there will probably be regrets in Michigan because they just said the number would be 120,000 who will lose their unemployment benefits as of November 30. So I guess they will be thinking about 2012.

[AngryAmish]

39. Shut up. Talk about the TSA.

Or a dancing daughter of Sarah Palin. Do I have to show you the memo again?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

41. They will be told it's for their own good and to cheer up.

[MattBaggins]

46. That's my plan

For every dickhead tea bagger type that says all unemployed are lazy and stupid; go to their bosses and tell them you will work for 10% less than they do.

[Moondog]

47. The Administration will stop counting them in the unemployment stats.

[ProudDad]

50. Yep, the unemployment "rate" will go down,

The stock market will climb...

The banksters will get their HUGE bonuses...

The wars will go on, and on, and on, and on...

The rich will get richer and the rest of us poorer...

Per-capita income will rise as those who cannot survive die in the gutters and culverts of the land...

Obama will declare victory and a full recovery of the "economy"...

And get elected to another term...

[OlympicBrian]

51. THIS will happen...

Unemployment Rate Set to Magically Drop
By Dan, Seattle
11/19/2010

Recently, a bill to extend unemployment benefits failed in the House, shot down by Republicans. While this bill may be devastating to the millions who lose their benefits around the holidays--in a strange twist, there may be a "silver lining" in place for politicians as a result of the failure.
...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9593706

[TheKentuckian]

52. Your nightmare is already in full swing, what we are heading toward is much more dire.

We've got a massive job hole and an even bigger wage destruction issue.

We already are in the land of people holding bachelor and masters degrees literally praising God to land low dollar temp jobs, I know I am.

We're looking at massive homelessness, tent cities, empty food banks, soup lines turning away people, flooded homeless shelters, and grinding conditions with ever diminishing pay for folks lucky enough to work.

We aren't tackling the structural issues that causes these problems and are essentially hoping for magic due to intense and systematic faith in a false secular religion.

Currently, we are stupid, insane, and effectively suicidal as a society.

[my2sense]

53. Well stated!