Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Earth to Hooper, Earth to Hooper! Come in, Hooper!
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January 3, 2011 at 4:52 am #597513
DPMemberI kid, Hoop. You know I like you — even if you are foolish fond of Billy Goat Gruff meat.
Anyway, I’m curious about a recent remark of yours, to wit:
why are we spending billions on unemployment checks when that money could be used fixing infrastructure; aka creating jobs.
The generous interpretation of this remark is that you are proposing to put people to work re-building infrastructure, instead of having them sit at home watching reality TeeVee, blogging compulsively, or whatnot.
I actually like your idea of rebuilding infrastructure — so does President Obama for that matter — but I’m a little sketchy on some of the details. What’s the connection between unemployment security and rebuilding infrastructure exactly? How would that work?
Let’s suppose that I’m an unemployed editor. Editing is what I was trained to do. It’s what I’m good at. I’m no good at construction.
Are you proposing that now, in order to continue receiving an unemployment check, I should put in a certain number of hours each day filling potholes or welding bridge girders?
Help me out with some detail here, if you don’t mind . . . Thanks.
–David
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 You down wid’ BGG?
 –Yeah, you know me!
January 3, 2011 at 5:42 am #712894
tanyar23ParticipantCracking me up with the BGG…
January 3, 2011 at 5:56 am #712895
hooper1961Memberwhy not work for your check, filling potholes, sweeping the streets something in exchange for the check.
January 3, 2011 at 6:22 am #712896
JanSParticipantand how much work would you require to be eligible for that unemployment check…and would you allow time for looking for a job in the chosen field of editing…and for interviews, etc.?
Oh, and please stop answering questions with questions :) thanks!
January 3, 2011 at 6:35 am #712897
JoBParticipantHooper1961
Tell me
How much work are you willing to do…
in addition to filing reams of paperwork …
To collect on your next insurance claim?
Just wondering
January 3, 2011 at 6:36 am #712898
BonnieParticipantAre these pothole fillers going to come already trained?
January 3, 2011 at 6:36 am #712899
hooper1961Membersomeone suggested 10 hours in a post that i think 24 hours (3-days/week) leaving 2 days to find a job in chosen field. i was taught you need to work for pay.
sweeping streets all you need is a broom.
JoB – what insurance claim, for what? i was let go in 2003 AND DID NOT FILE A CLAIM instead i made it on my own without a dime of government assistance. in fact the government added taxing hurdles almost from day 1 that made it even tougher.
January 3, 2011 at 7:07 am #712900
tanyar23ParticipantI suggested the 10 hrs of community service/volunteering, unless they were physically/mentally unable to, or were in school, or for some extenuating circumstance. Maybe 8 hours? It just seems to me like it would be of benefit to the community. People could have a variety of choices. Maybe someone with editing skills could volunteer in a school. Idk. I think it’s an idea that would benefit the community and also keep some fresh skills on someone’s resume.
From go2ui.com “Each week that you claim benefits, you must make at least three employer contacts or participate in three in-person job search activities (or a combination of both for a total of three) at your local WorkSource office or local employment center.” My observation is that it doesn’t take that long to do 3 employer contacts or three in-person job search activities.
I didn’t think the idea was so whacky, but maybe it is.
January 3, 2011 at 4:06 pm #712901
hooper1961Membertanya – your idea is very reasonable
January 3, 2011 at 6:09 pm #712902
DPMembertanya – your idea is very reasonable
Thanks, Hoop! That’s all we needed to hear.
And thank you, Tanya. I think I just felt a positive shift in The Force.
Whoops! Gotta fly now . . .
January 3, 2011 at 7:03 pm #712903
dawsonctParticipantSoooo, punish the unemployed for not being desperate enough to keep their previous employment,
yet CONTINUE to NOT hold responsible the people who trashed, and continue to do so, our American economy, off-shoring our jobs, and getting tax-breaks for doing so.
The “blame the victim” mentality of you conservatives is truly misguided and extraordinarily tiresome.
January 3, 2011 at 8:40 pm #712904
hooper1961Memberdawsonct – you have no argument from me regarding the bankers and the people who lied on their loan applications (liar loans) should be held accountable for what they did to the economy. but i am sick of victim syndrome being foisted.
i was a victim of a job loss several years ago; i did not cry to the government for unemployment instead i strapped on my boots and started my own business.
the fact remains there are jobs available for those willing to work hard to find one; my ex gf is a prime example she worked 24/7 to find a job and was successful. yes it took some time but she persisted very hard and got a job. and while searching she did part time gigs to make money.
January 3, 2011 at 9:20 pm #712905
dawsonctParticipantI have paid into unemployment my whole working life. Should I ever need to use it, I won’t be “cry(ing) to the (our) government” in order to get something to which I am not entitled. It is mine, and it is one of the reasons we have created a society in the first place, to take care of one another so our civilization can survive times of trouble.
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And the tired mantra of, “there are jobs out there if you’re willing to work” is a bunch of crap. It is fine for someone like me who, as a cook, already work in one of our society’s lower tier professions. I can go into just about any craphole and get a job that won’t be far below what I make in a nicer restaurant. I will get hired because they know the incentive level for me to leave is different.
If I am making $11/hr. working at a convenience store in the Jct. I won’t necessarily leave the instant a $12.50/hr. job opens in a kitchen in N. Seattle.
On the other hand, if I were a chemical engineer and a job opened for me, the jump in pay would be so great, it wouldn’t matter WHERE I needed to commute to, I’m quitting that job RIGHT NOW!
If you owned that convenience store, which poor schlub are YOU going to hire to ring up beer and candy bars?
—
Expecting the currently unemployed American workers, who were PRIMARILY middle-class until a few years ago, to suddenly accept a DRASTICALLY reduced standard of living, is a corporatists wet-dream, and folks like you Hoop, by ignoring what the corporatists are doing, are facilitating the destruction of the America our Nation’s Founders envisioned.
—
This is what happens when capital, and those who control it, are free to move around the World, but Labor, those who CREATE the capital in the first place, are kept locked up by national boundaries.
Capital will ALWAYS seek out the greatest return, no matter what the ultimate effect is on the environment in which it exists. Unregulated capital is parasitic, and will eventually kill it’s host.
January 4, 2011 at 12:58 am #712906
tanyar23ParticipantJust as an FYI, I am not conservative at all. I’ve voted Democrat/Green Party on a multitude of things. Was thrilled that McCain/Palin did not get voted in. I believe in support services. I do not think we should punish the poor. I think that there should be access to quality education for all and health care for all.
I do not know enough about unemployment to know if you pay into it, that there’s some reserve with your name on it. I do know that I do not plan on having Social Security when I retire, because I know that the money put into it now, really goes to support those who are collecting it now. I know that Social Security is going to become unstable as the large bubble of baby boomers start to collect on it.
I believe in supporting infrastructure which tends to be more of a liberal thing than doing tax cuts. I also believe that we should tax the wealthy. I believe we should have adopted an income tax since our sales tax is incredibly regressive and hurts the poor. I also think that by supporting education and infrastructure, that we become a more marketable place for businesses. I believe that we really should think global and buy local. I believe in recycling and that most importantly we should look at how our policies impact the next 7 generations. I think we need to have a huge shift in how we take care of the earth, so that we have a place we can leave our children.
I’m done for now…I find it strange that Hoop agrees with me. I’ve had to refrain from other posts of his because it inspired fury in me as someone who is a “state employee”.
January 4, 2011 at 2:11 am #712907
Shfy1Memberrawr…:) you go girl. i’m with tanya. also, many people who become unemployed, become depressed and by working and getting out of the house, etc..perhaps they will remain bouyant emotionally, perhaps make a personal connection, perhaps volunteer for someone who finds their skills extraordinary and then hires them….how can it be bad supporting your community?
January 4, 2011 at 2:33 am #712908
redblackParticipantdawson: as far as i know, unemployment insurance is paid solely on the employer’s side. (and i don’t know how the self-employed pay into the system, if at all.) UI is paid out by state governments – until they can’t anymore; then the federal government fills the hole. hence the recent national discussions on what the federal government should do about the long-term unemployed.
i think the system is justified, though. it discourages employers from laying people off for as long as possible.
and you can’t draw unemployment if you’re fired or if you quit your job voluntarily.
January 4, 2011 at 2:46 am #712909
JanSParticipantI am self-employed..my boss is a b*t*h at times, but we get along. No chance of getting unemployment here – lol…also no chance of paid sick leave, paid vacation, etc. We don’t contribute to unemployment fund, since we technically can’t get let go…technically speaking ;)
January 4, 2011 at 3:50 am #712910
skeeterParticipantHooper, you are a beacon of light. I, too, am getting a little tired of people believing they are owed something by the government. Government was formed to protect the rights of citizens, provide for the common defense, build infrastructure, and regulate commerce. Not to redistribute wealth.
January 4, 2011 at 3:53 am #712911
skeeterParticipantJan, I don’t know your specifics, but your employer is required to pay into unemployment insurance on your behalf. If she is not, she is breaking the law.
January 4, 2011 at 4:08 am #712912
JanSParticipantskeeter..I’m my boss…I’m self-employed…we don’t get unemployment…it’s one of the joys of being self-employed..and being a sole proprietor…
January 4, 2011 at 4:11 am #712913
JoBParticipantskeeter..
jans is self employed.
not required to pay into unemployment insurance.
nor are temp agencies
tanyar23
if a person on unemployment spends 8 hours a day doing volunteer work..
when are they going to look for work?
the job of an unemployed person is to look for work…
that includes networking and job search classes and checking websites for positions and sending in resumes and following up on them and introducing yourself to every employer you can find.
it’s a whole lot of work if done right…
too bad that work isn’t always rewarded with a job.
hooper1961…
so can you explain to me what is so noble about not collecting benefits due to you?
unemployment insurance is paid on your behalf as part of your compensation package by your employer into an account that no-one else can use.
did you walk away without collecting your last check too?
not likely.
January 4, 2011 at 4:16 am #712914
JanSParticipantand, Skeeter…that’s why I can call my boss a b*t*h in a public forum, and not get canned :)
January 4, 2011 at 4:34 am #712915January 4, 2011 at 5:00 am #712916
hooper1961MemberJoB no my boss handed me my last check and accrued vacation/sick leave pay. he had to cut staff and bet i would not file that would cost him money.
JanS is correct self employed people do not have to pay into unemployment; but i have to pay it for my part time employee.
Skeeter west seattle is a very diverse community that is a big plus.
January 4, 2011 at 5:06 am #712917
RarelyEverParticipantdawsonct – you are a (wo)man after my own taste. couldn’t agree with your post more and am herewith buying you a (virtual) drink. cheers! :)
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