The Real Reason We Have the Highest Long-Term Unemployment Rate In 70 Years by John Lott

Commentary by walford

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/04/16/john-lott-unemployment-benefits-obama-democrats-harry-reid/

Having been on unemployment, I can tell you that it is no picnic. You are expected to provide documented evidence of job-seeking every week. You are racing against the clock to find a job before the benefits run out. That time runs more quickly than you might think.

You can only qualify for unemployment if you are laid off, so I question this assertion that increased “benefits also encourage some people, who may be unhappy with their jobs, to become unemployed while they look for something better. Others will be a little more reluctant to take a new job when they are offered it.”

Given the labor glut [that is exacerbated by illegal immigration], employers behave like prom queens and the process of job-seeking is pure hell.

You are brought in to interview for jobs and don’t find out until you show up that you are not qualified for the position, because keywords on your resume were flagged and the headhunter didn’t bother to actually read it until you’re sitting before him with his multiple facial piercings and hair gel.

You are expected to show up for 2nd and 3rd interviews that often last hours. HR bimbos ask you ridiculous questions that have nothing to do with the job and you’re expected to maintain an upbeat facade while you worry about how you will survive. You are left twisting in the wind for weeks and months while you wait for them to decide.

No one in their right mind would turn down a job to remain on unemployment and deal with that kind of torture. There are some employers who have told me flat-out that they will not accept any applicant who is on unemployment because they think these people are enjoying a nice paid vacation.

“About a third of workers receiving unemployment insurance find work right after their benefits run out.”

And what happens to the other 2/3? When my unemployment ran out, my marriage broke up soon afterward and I found myself living in my car for over a year.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/32238/asleep-at-the-wheel

Given my age and condition, I cannot do hard physical labor anymore, and showing up at a job interview with bifocals and gray hair was a great hindrance. And I found out the hard way that having menial, low-paying employment on your resume between office jobs is looked upon scornfully by potential employers.

“Why were you driving a cab after 12 years of being a CAD drafter?”

“Surviving the best way I knew how.”

I can promise you that my current resume is scrupulously pruned.

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The solution is not to make it even more difficult for those who are suffering under the Obama-economy. The solution is to cut taxes [better still eliminate all taxes on savings, investment and income] as well as spending. That will create real private sector jobs and eliminate this issue altogether.