Once I built a railroad, now it’s done, …buddy, can you spare a dime?
by Michael Adam Reale

This is now being called the Great Recession. When asked, those who lived through the Great Depression what they called it, they replied they just called it hard times. We are slightly better off than those people were because they did not have unemployment insurance, food stamps, or any of the social programs we now have today. They had nothing at all. Many Republicans would have us go back to those “good old days.” Fortunately, for us, for now, have a majority in our government who feel otherwise. (more…)

My name is John Ellison and I am a 53 year old male. I have been unemployed for 19 months now, and I tell you if I didn’t have faith in God I would have committed suicide by now. I have lost my home, my job and my self-esteem. Since I have no vehicle of my own, I have been going to our local library everyday applying for every job online. I have resorted to moving in with my son and daughter-in-law and 3 granddaughters. When I was receiving my unemployment checks, I at least was able to help out a little bit financially. Now I am COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON THEM. And this is because of our greedy politicians who have no compassion.The unemployment benefit extension is not a gift but a necessity. Take the money from the AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives who received millions in bonus money and put that towards the unemployment fund. Why not? They helped put this economy in the mess we are in anyway. FAIR IS FAIR

An open letter to the United States government.

A message from the front lines.

Today marks the 1776th resume I have sent out in over two years of job hunting, a number you’re clearly not at all familiar with given your recent attacks on the American people. In the time it takes your self-automated email robot to reply to this with a completely irrelevant response that doesn’t touch on one thing I’ve covered here, another 50,000 American citizens will exhaust their last line of defense against your irresponsible actions. A few thousand more will lose their homes, their children, their lives. This is no longer a matter of a half-witted government hellbent on making short-sighted decisions that come back to haunt us ten years from now, this time you have upped the ante and are screwing up royally in real time. You are causing physical, tangible harm to the people you represent and blatantly lying to them in the process. You are no longer fit to govern this once great nation, you have reduced this innovative, fiscally healthy democratic world leader to an apathetic, financially destroyed oligarchy hated by everyone who doesn’t receive billions of our money. Bombs continue to be hurled at nations that will leave us alone if you just stop hurling bombs at them. Thousands continue to stream across our borders to take advantage of opportunities that we can no longer afford. Billions of dollars are miraculously found to help foreign nations recover from natural disasters, yet you can’t seem to find the cash to extend an aid package that is quite literally matter of life and death to your citizens.

Yesterday was your last possible chance to save what will be approximately 5.6 million votes in November. This number represents the total number of 99′ers at that point. Add to this another 10 million people who, while not yet benefit exhaustees, are clearly aware of your continued assault on the unemployed. Now take all the family members of these people and their friends and the countless other employed, unaffected voters who have any sort of conscious and I’d be willing to bet you’re looking at a cool twenty to thirty million voters out their who would be more likely to write in Pol Pot than to vote for you again. There is no good and bad list here, we have no heroes in the house or the senate. We have words, promises, lies and fairy tales. Telling us something is in the works holds no more water than me telling you I run a unicorn farm in the tree-city of Alpha-One. It’s obvious you can’t deliver. You say “every day matters to these folks” but act like you just can’t wait to get on your sailboat. The one we paid for. And you’re docking in Bermuda to avoid taxes. I’ve seen counterfeit watch sellers in Oakland with higher moral standards than you.

And to accuse those who have lost their jobs and have exhausted benefits as being lazy, unmotivated or otherwise unwilling to work is absolutely ridiculous. Do I think that across the board, the entire population of unemployed workers are diligently seeking gainful employment on a regular basis? No. But I don’t think you’re all idiots either. There will always be some percentage of people who take advantage of social services and poison it with their actions. A twenty eight year old couch surfer collecting more than he needs while he bounces around the country screwing off on the taxpayers dime will get about ten fold coverage than a group of a thousand who have three cans of soup and six batteries left. To say “all unemployed are…” is generalizing. And we all know what William Blake said about that. Again, these arguments hold no water. Repeating them as opposition to further extend benefits only shows you’re incapable of basic subtraction. 15 million unemployed. Minimum. 3 million jobs. Maximum.

As of today, I will deplete what’s left of my 401K. Two and a half years ago, I was 32 and had close to one hundred thousand dollars in my retirement. Utilizing the financial management skills of a crack addicted homeless man, the banking institutions you were so quick to bail out managed to reduce my assets to about half of that. Now for me to get at this money, that I earned, I’m forced to pay fees and taxes that would make a loan shark envious, netting me about thirty thousand when all is said and done. Spread that over two and a half years. Add this to the unemployment check I received and I barely made my rent and bills. Now tax me on every thing imaginable. Oh and since I cashed out my 401K at 30 thousand and received 14 thousand in benefits, tax me at a 44K rate. When I’m unemployed. Tax bill deferment? Nope. You’re not interested. Payment plan? How does half your rent sound. For the life of me I can’t understand why you’re so fixated on doing everything imaginable stand in the way of someone trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic job market that you are directly responsible for.

I don’t even know what to say about this president. I’ll admit, he got my vote but this was due in large part to the extensive marketing campaign. I love a good poster. And if Gillette comes out with a seventeen blade razor I will buy it. It was the speeches, the completely believable promises of green fields and happy children frolicking in a land of economic prosperity and healthy international relations. A land where the president would listen to the citizen, open up the White House and bring government back to the people. This was of course all a load of crap. Instead what we got was the same thing, just a different flavor and sprinkled with a thirty million dollar website updated about as often as my cat gets a bath. I don’t have a cat. I used to think the Quizno’s sandwiches commercials took the top prize for marketing bait and switch, but the Democratic party really get’s the gold with this administration. At least the Republicans have the decency to be upfront about how disgusting they are. This is a group of people who would legalize non-christian baby hunting if given half the chance but I would have expected more from the other side. I’m truly disappointed in you, this is like finding out the Rebel Alliance is actually owned by Time/Warner. Needless to say Barry, you lost my vote. Not that it matters. But as George Bush once said, Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.

You failed your citizens. An employee who is not able to complete the task assigned to them should be fired. One who ignores the requests of his bosses should be thrown out and those who steal should be thrown in jail. Your actions as a government have been directly responsible for the deaths of citizens of this nation. You know this is happening, it has been acknowledged, yet you continue to do nothing. If Inner Mongolia was hit with a freak gremlin invasion, you’d pony up all that was required to quell the onslaught, but when some destitute father of three is sitting in a bathroom with a shotgun down his throat because he can’t feed his children, you’d rather run from your duties and spend a month cheating on your wives in the Hamptons. Not only should you be disgusted, that should be you. You should be the one sobbing over an ever increasing mountain of unpayable bills and the mounting stress of impending homelessness. Explain to your children why they don’t get lunch. Beg your landlord for another month. Cut back on medications that keep you alive. One day of this exhausting chaos coupled with the useless search for jobs that don’t exist and you’d either change your position on it’s extreme urgency or you would be officially deemed an emotionless autonomous congressbot not fit to represent actual human beings.

This will be read by nobody. I understand this. It will be searched for keywords by some drone computer in some soulless basement we’re paying 20 million a year to operate a basic script looking for words like shotgun, invasion, bush, cheating, taxes, etc….But it will be saved ~ and if the government is good at one thing, it’s spending an insane amount of money storing useless data. So perhaps twenty years from now, some citizen of New America will read this. This is to that person:

We tried. They were master idiots.

So goodbye federal Government. Socially, you do not serve the needs of the people. Militarily, you cause the problems you protect us from. Economically, I think I’d rather entrust the survival of this country on the six year old down the street who sells dirt clods. According to my widely inaccurate calculations, you will have pissed off every man, woman and child in the United States by 2013. By 2019, unborn fetuses will hate you. And by 2026, Canada will actually begin a multi-trillion dollar project to geologically separate itself from the United States, simply to distance themselves from the stench of the garbage coming out of Washington.

I do hope you enjoy your vacations though. Never have I wished for anything more than to be able to telepathically control bull sharks.

Sincerely,

Citizen #85737294927AJ

I am an unemployed teacher. I was a para-educator for over 10 years and went back to school to get my teaching certificate with Special Ed endorsement. I had one year of teaching. I have been out of work for over a year as there aren’t any positions to apply to. One I tried for last year had 90 people apply. That’s how bad it is out in my area. I have accrued a high debt to go back to school to obtain my certificate. I feel I should have stayed a para. At least I’d have a steady income and health care. The school districts get so much Federal dollars per Special Ed student. they are committing fraud in that they put the money in a general fund, not just for Sped students. If they managed money better, there’d be plenty for teacher positions.

Unemployed since Dec 2008! I am probably over educated for the backwoods of Montana but with my 4 yr communications degree and now going back to school to update skills. I am working on an as in IT Web Technology. One would think that a skill, talented and educated worker would have no problem getting work but I have now found myself seeking part time and temp work anything to get me in the work place again. Nothing seems to be working.
I lost my job as a dispatcher for a trucking company when there was no frieght to move. I have seen no changes in the economy here in Montana. Creditors have grown tired of hearing I have no money and quite frankly so have I.
It is really hard to remember that I am just one of 6 million other people trying to make ends meet through no fault of our own.
We want jobs, until then we NEED our unemployment benefits. You need to remember the reason we had them is because we were hard working taxpayers.
I too, am a very hard working taxpayer that has a very long memory and I will keep all this info for my choice at election time. Even if it means I am voting while I am living on the streets.

This is the letter I sent to Richard Burr that tells my story and thanks him for all he has done for us unemployed.

Mr. Burr, I just wanted to thank you for voting against every measure that might help jobless people gain employment or just get by until doing so. I am a 43 year old father of two who worked at the same locally owned home building company since graduating from UNCC in 1991. I have not been able to find a job in anything relating to construction for 18 months now. I am highly qualified even over qualified for the position I held and the positions Ive applied for since. In fact its gotten so bad that if you look on Craigs List now for construction jobs, they no longer have a category listed for construction.
Realizing residential construction would take years to recover I went back to college, as soon as I could get into one, to train for a new career which Ive had to pay for out of my unemployment compensation. The community colleges are understandabally packed so I lost 6 months after being laid off just to get in. I do not qualify for Pell grants because I have a Bachelor of Science already and local community colleges which are much cheaper than universities do not support Stafford loans. Therefore all my training expenses come out of my whopping $500/wk benefits. $500/week is less than half of what I made as a construction manager. So while I appreciate it being there, if anyone believes that we unemployed are just having a nice vacation you are sorely mistaken. How well would you get by on a 60% reduction in pay. I purchased my home on way less than what I made when working. I didnt go crazy, I was conservative and purchased a modest home that I could afford. I have immaculate credit with a rating in the high 800\’s….For Now. Its more than I can afford on 500.00 per week. So unless I can find a new career soon we will lose our home and credit rating.
The GOP has also made it very interesting by blocking every extension of the extensions. I cannot plan. Im afraid to take a full academic load because I never know if Ill have to get a job a McDonalds because I dont now how long my benefits will last. It would be impossible for anyone to care for 2 children work full time at McDonalds and carry a full academic load. If I had known what was coming I could have many more classes behind me.
You know, I understand supply and demand and I dont think a lot can be done for the housing industry. It will have to purge itself of the bad loans and recover own its own. It should not be bailed out. But many of us could use a little help. I would not be so hurt at the blocking of the jobs bill, that was whittled down to nothing but a EB extension that still you wouldnt support, if I thought it was sincere objection and fiscal responsibility. However, after being a part of the Congress that ran the economy off a cliff I do not belive it is a sincere objection. I believe it is a campaign strategy to keep the economy in bad shape. I hope I am wrong but if I\’m right many hard working people are suffering for no good reason. Please help us and vote your conscience and not the party line. Not just us unemployed but America.
Sincerely
Scott Epley

I sent this letter to anyone I thought would listen
To My President

TO: Current politicians, Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Congresspersons Dean Heller, Dina Titus, and Shelly Berkley, and Governor Gibbons. TO: Want-to-be politicians Sharon Angle, Brian Sandoval and Rory Reid.

This is an open letter to any politician that cares enough to do something about those they profess to want to help.

I worry a lot about my family. I’m 56 years old and at this time unemployed. I spend countless hours looking for work. Much of my resumes go unanswered. I realized that my resumes bragged about the fact that in the last 32 years I worked for three employers, 4 years in the Navy, 16 years with a plastic container company, and then 12 years for a cabletray/comdata company. I didn’t rest on my laurels either. In 1992 after another downturn in the economy I returned to school.

When I started back to school I had taken and passed the high school equivalency. From the early nineties I’ve worked full time and attended school par time. In 1992 I was hoping to better my place at company number one. My hope was to get a welding certificate. After attending community college for a couple of years, I wondered about how many credits I needed to get a high school diploma. The conditions at work were okay, but it seemed no matter how hard I worked I wasn’t being advanced. The only thing different about me and those being advanced was they had a high school diploma. After checking with the local adult education department with the school district I found that all I needed to graduate 1 ½ credits to get my high school diploma. At the same time I was near to completing my associate’s degree in welding technology.

So, let’s take stock of what has happened so far:
• 4 years in the Navy
• 16 years working for company number one
• returning to school in 1992 ( welding technology )
• in 1995 I obtain my high school degree
• in 1996 company number one closed shop and moved to Texas

The closure and move caused my progress to slow a little. However, by 1999 I earned my first post high school degree (welding technology). I chose the next company because it seemed to be people oriented. Within a couple of years the company asked employees if they would like to tutor in math and English at a local elementary school, I didn’t hesitate. At this time I was very close to getting my welding degree. Once I started tutoring I realized what I really wanted to do with my life. Tutoring in the special education resource-room gave me a connection to the students that needed my help. I have always enjoyed helping others find answers to questions they had. There is no feeling like seeing a student “get it” after struggling for such a long time.

The direction that I was heading in changed at that time. As I finished my technical degree, my new goal was to work towards a transfer degree to the University, and in 2003 that became a reality.

I survived the Dot-com bubble in the early 2000’s by accepting a demotion and reduction in pay. This lead me to the realization that the focus companies were beginning to take was away from people orientation and moving towards cost reduction. In this climate companies with a good name were being swallowed up by mega corporations. Guess what? This animal came to visit the company I was working for. First, it reduced overhead by chewing through temps by the hundreds. Then, they increased production by holding peoples jobs over their heads. As people retired they wouldn’t fill the positions. Finally, the ones that were left had to become adept at multi-tasking. I lived in this climate of ever increasing pressure, and continued to attend school.

In 2009 due to the recession (in my eyes depression), the company, knowing that I was close to my bachelor’s degree, found it easy to let me go. In my opinion, they most likely thought that I would be leaving anyways. Since 2009 I’ve completed my Bachelor’s degree in Special education. Now we come to the climate of reducing education costs along with others like police, and fire costs. At this time there are very little openings and there are 10 to 12 people lining up for each job. There are little or no openings for those new teachers coming into the system. This is where I stand today. I don’t expect people to give me anything, but because of the way the world is today, there is no safety net. Some people have fallen through the cracks.

So, let’s take stock of what has happened so far:
• obtained first associate’s degree 1999
• working for a new company, they seem to be people orientated
• company sold to mega corporation
• Dot-com bubble, reduced in position and pay
• obtained second associate’s degree 2003
• started University of Nevada, Reno
• 2007 economic downturn
• 2009 Laid-off
• 2010 obtained Bachelor’s degree

This is the point of this letter; the person I am concerned about is my wife of thirty years. She has a progressive condition, rheumatoid arthritis, which is slowly crippling her. We went to Social Security and Medicaid for a short period. However, because of a small disability and unemployment check, this stopped us in our tracks. She is now one of those masses of uninsured that can’t get help. Until recently I was able to provide for my family. What I’ve learned is that for us to get help there is one of two choices: one get a job, or two drop off of unemployment loss the house and become a homeless family. Getting a job in this climate hinges on a persons age and abilities. Today’s job market is like an alternative universe; being a long time employee and striving to educate ones self is seen as a deterrent. It’s like once you have reached an age where your skills are at their best, you’re tossed aside for younger and cheaper labor. Companies are all about the bottom line.

The alternative for me to get help is to become destitute, separate with my wife, or watch my wife die slowly in severe pain. There have been some god-sent people. Her specialist, when we weren’t able to pay his going price, reduced the cost of his appointments to thirty dollars. At thirty dollars a visit he is losing money; he can’t do this for long, if he did he would go out of business. This continues like a cascade, if he closes it puts those working for him out on the street and so on.

I can end this letter by throwing out lame clichés like, the darkest hour comes just before the dawn, or there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Neither of these statements gives me any solos. Looking to God seems to be a dark rabbit hole where Tea-baggers, Ayn Randers, and Neo-Cons live. The last church I attended only wanted those of the right-wing persuasion. What really scares me is a United States that is under the corporate boot. There really isn’t any freedom in the land of the free.

Robert R. Blalock
349 Shadow Lane
Fernley, NV 89408
Home # (775) 575-4231, Cell # (775) 980-9111
Email: rblalock53@hotmail.com
P.S. Act fast because my family and I may be living under a bridge somewhere, soon!

P.P.S If we are living under a bridge we will surely fade away quickly.

To all those cheeky ‘EMPLOYED’ Republican Senators:

I keep hearing the folks in Government talk about the lazy unemployed people not even trying to find a job. Unfortunately, I never, ever thought I’d be unemployed this long. Otherwise maybe I’d have kept better records.

I’m fairly certain that I’ve applied for over 3,000 jobs since being laid-off in October 2008. Even if benefits are reinstated, I’ll only have

I have a 112 page document that I downloaded from monster.com. It does not include the hundreds of jobs I’ve applied for after doing hours of research about a particular company. And, I don’t apply for just any job, since I try to take care not to inundate HR folks with bogus applications (since I have an understanding of what that job entail’s).

Thank you for your compassion! Too many people judge us unemployed folks, think we’re just lazy and just sitting around sucking up the “grand”
benefits of unemployment dough! Yeah right. I’m on verge (August 10th ) of losing my house and living out of my vehicle.

I’ve applied for the HAMP government loan modifications but my mortgage company, WELLS FARGO, has denied me 3 times. Its bogus, they really don’t care to help you – just want their money … ASAP!! I’ve written to just about everybody in Texas senate, just get the ‘cookie-cutter’ letter and run-around.

Again, I can’t thank you enough. I hope I’m still around to see the recovery in our economy. I just don’t know how to make it anymore. I’m all tapped out. Financially and mentally. I’m fairly certain I’ve experienced a total mental breakdown & have no money for doctors or med’s.

Bedford, Texas – Just need a job, any job will do!

PLEASE HELP – APPROVE the Tier 5 unemployment TODAY!

Sincerely,
Susan Stokes
Single-Mom 99er needs Tier 5 Approved Today!

Hello, My Name is Michael and I am a 43 year old unemployed father now a stay at home dad , My position as a Shipping and receiving manager was eliminated due to company downsizing March 5th of 2008 I have exhausted all my Unemployment benefits since February 19 2010 . My wife has had to work overtime so that we can get by I have to watch our 20 month old daughter as we can not afford child care, I have been looking for work every day since I was shut out of my job but no one will hire me

I am 54 years old and I have been on unemployment for 1.5 years. I worked as a Licensed Psychiatric Tech. for decades. I deal with the burn out of this vocation with difficulty. I have burned bridges for being too honest with employers.
I also have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. This sometimes interferes with my progress in a job or getting one.
I know this has caused problems. Along with this I have gone through so many jobs I have become fairly experienced in searching and getting a job. But I look at what it takes now and I feel burn out there as well. The credit checks, the reference checks. Everything that is expected is so anal and intrusive. Some people lost their jobs and could not pay their bills. So good luck with the credit check. My credit history is none of an employers business.
Being 54 it is hard to fight off the attitudes. I have to sink my self away and bring out someone else to go to work.
But I haven’t given up.