My friend and unemployment...

[Texashiker]

If you need lotion to jack off then it means your penis is broken. The outer skin is supposed to be a gliding mechanism.

Most people have their outer skin cut off after birth, its called circumcision.

 

[SunnyD]

Most people have their outer skin cut off after birth, its called circumcision.

Try again.

Not to mention if you are, you're obviously broken.

 

[jupiter57]

OP you're talking as if welfare, and unemployment benefits are the same thing, but they are not. When you are working you pay into unemployment so that if you become unemployed you have a safety net. Welfare on the other hand is just people sponging off of other tax payers money (unless of course they are legitimately disabled). So yeah; I think your friend is better of taking his time and finding the right job, rather than settling for some positing where he will be underpaid, and unsatisfied.

Actually, you DO NOT pay in anything, it is withheld from your employer. That said, should your employer NOT have to pay this, they quite possibly (but highly unlikely), would be able to give you that amount in the form of a raise.

As for all the Unemployment bashers here, I would venture to say that the majority of you have never had to live on Unemployment Benefits, or you would understand the implications and thought processes involved.

I worked Construction for ~35 years, first few years I would get laid-off in the winter & get by for a short time on UI.
During the last recession, I was laid off for several months. I received just over half my regular paycheck, which sucked, but it was still about triple what I could have made working middle class jobs. Why take a severe cut in (income) just because someone thinks you should?

I have, over the years, taken other jobs in the industry rather than take UI, typically, I would be too busy working to even look for better work, and I disliked what I was doing VS what I normally do. (Manual Labor VS Management). Does not a happy camper make!

Jobs of any kind are very hard to come by right now, and those that are available pay less than they did before the recession hit, with the exception of minimum wage jobs, of course.
Employers are taking advantage of the situation by offering rock bottom wages due to the desperation of those needing work the most. Most care not even if you are qualified, as long as you will work cheap!

If I were still in the work force and were receiving UI, you can rest assured that I would continue to take it as long as possible before I would take a loss of income.
To do otherwise would be foolish.
It's not laziness, just common sense.

If the economy doesn't improve greatly soon, some of you Unemployment bashers may well find yourselves in the same boat. I hope not, but, "until you walk a mile in his shoes"!

 

[dpodblood]

Actually, you DO NOT pay in anything, it is withheld from your employer. That said, should your employer NOT have to pay this, they quite possibly (but highly unlikely), would be able to give you that amount in the form of a raise.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding, but when I get a pay stub there is a section for EI which lists my deductions.

 

[jupiter57]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding, but when I get a pay stub there is a section for EI which lists my deductions.

Sorry, likely it is different in CA.
I was clarifying the misconception most Americans have about it.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I'm not worried about him. He still lives with his parents, so besides his car payment, he doesn't really have any bills to pay. My concern is more of the use of unemployment. I just don't think you should be picky with jobs if you are on taxpayers' dollar.

Actually that's one of the reasons for the government implementing this. The idea is that people that had certain qualifications wouldn't have to take just whatever they could get (which helps them, and prevents them from taking a job from someone else, that would likely be a better fit/qualified for that position).

 

[darkswordsman17]

Sorry, likely it is different in CA.
I was clarifying the misconception most Americans have about it.

Well, even if your employer is technically the one paying it, the cost is entirely passed onto the employees via lower income, so its just arguing semantics. Er, sorry, just noticed you did actually point that out.

But yeah, most people are completely clueless about it and act like its welfare which its not at all.

 

[dainthomas]

He has been on unemployment since 2009 after he was let go from a computer laboratory assistant job.

Haha, does that even qualify as a job?

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm wondering what business is it of yours? Christ, my friends and I have gone through periods of unemployment in our lives. Usually it goes something like this: Hey, I just got laid off. Government cheese here I come! Then there is commiserating and the occasional asking how the job search is going...etc.

The way you talk you'd think you were his wife.

FTR-I've turned down low paying jobs while on unemployment. I'm not going to sell myself short for anyone.

 

[jupiter57]

I'm wondering what business is it of yours? Christ, my friends and I have gone through periods of unemployment in our lives. Usually it goes something like this: Hey, I just got laid off. Government cheese here I come! Then there is commiserating and the occasional asking how the job search is going...etc.

The way you talk you'd think you were his wife.

FTR-I've turned down low paying jobs while on unemployment. I'm not going to sell myself short for anyone.

Good one, J!

The one time I was on Unemployment for a while, the Office of Employment services sent me on a referral to a Contractor who took up 2+ hours of my time, told me they wanted to hire me, then told me they were going to pay me 25% of what I was making previously (roughly 2/3 of my weekly benefit amount), + no benefits, no expenses!!!

I declined their offer, Unemployment cut me off for refusing work.
Had to do a lot of tedious paperwork, plus hearings, etc. to get it back.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally Posted by dpodblood
Perhaps I am misunderstanding, but when I get a pay stub there is a section for EI which lists my deductions.

Sorry, likely it is different in CA.
I was clarifying the misconception most Americans have about it.

IIRC, there are three states in which the employee contributes a small portion towards his/her unemployment insurance. (and it's usually a fraction of a percent)

It looks like currently, only Alaska , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania do this. Washington state USED to have an employee contribution, but apparently that's changed.

 

[classy]

2009? Thats just laziness.

 

[Texashiker]

As for all the Unemployment bashers here, I would venture to say that the majority of you have never had to live on Unemployment Benefits, or you would understand the implications and thought processes involved.

I had to draw unemployment for almost a year (around 2002 - 2003) - my family and I were living in North Houston, it was around the same time that Enron shutdown, and the market was flooded with people.

After about 11 months I was able to find a job, it was probably the worst year of my entire life. It was a period of my life when I felt utterly useless and worthless. There were times when I thought about suicide, just so my kids could draw social security benefits.

For me, drawing unemployment benefits is not only embarrassing, but its degrading to my worth as a person.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I had to draw unemployment for almost a year (around 2002 - 2003) - my family and I were living in North Houston, it was around the same time that Enron shutdown, and the market was flooded with people.

After about 11 months I was able to find a job, it was probably the worst year of my entire life. It was a period of my life when I felt utterly useless and worthless. There were times when I thought about suicide, just so my kids could draw social security benefits.

For me, drawing unemployment benefits is not only embarrassing, but its degrading to my worth as a person.

It is a shame that you felt that way. There is absolutely no reason for you to be embarrassed or degraded. Shame on whoever put those values into your head.

 

[Texashiker]

It is a shame that you felt that way. There is absolutely no reason for you to be embarrassed or degraded. Shame on whoever put those values into your head.

I was ashamed that I had a family, and was not able to provide better for them.

My wife was employed while I was drawing unemployment benefits - we were able to keep our house, the lights were kept on, bills were paid for the most part, but we had an SUV that got repoed.

On the other hand I know people who look forward to getting laid off. They work construction, usually get paid off around October, take November - March off and then go back to work. November, December and January are deer hunting season in Texas. So getting laid off in October means they can go hunting as much as the want.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I like having a job and do not want to get laid off. While other people work a few months, want a lay off to relax, and then go back to work for a few months.

One job I had where we worked a lot of overtime, 50 - 80 hours a week, I had new employees ask me when the lay off it going to be. They were tired of working 10 - 12 hours a day and wanted a lay off for a couple of months. When I told them "we do not get lay offs around here", some of them would get mad, and look for other jobs just so they could get laid off and draw unemployment benefits.

 

[Qacer]

I had to draw unemployment for almost a year (around 2002 - 2003) - my family and I were living in North Houston, it was around the same time that Enron shutdown, and the market was flooded with people...<snip>...
For me, drawing unemployment benefits is not only embarrassing, but its degrading to my worth as a person.

I know the feeling. After working 2 years for a small business, I got laid off a week before Thanksgiving because my boss ran out of funding. I have to agree that the time when I was unemployed I felt so useless. I started going through my contacts and calling people to see if they had anything. I felt really bad that the holidays were approaching and I would not be able to buy gifts for my family. I went through all job sites, attended a job fair, and so on.

Two months later, I had an offer to work 80 miles away and I was ready to take it. I didn't mind the drive as long as I had a job. Luckily, a local company made me an offer and I took it. It was a great feeling to be working again.

The other "unemployment" experience that I had was when I got my BS in engineering a couple of years ago. I was not married then and was still living at my parents house. I could not find a job for 5 months after graduation. I went through a couple of job fairs, had a few interviews, but nothing. I was so down that I literally just stayed indoors for a few weeks. I finally sprang into action and enrolled in graduate school. This time, I made sure that I had internship experience, made contacts with folks in industry (since my contacts in professional organizations did not lead to jobs), and took a part time job at the school to help cover my tuition.

I know a couple of you guys are ragging on me for being "all up" on my friend's business. And I do agree that I am doing that. But if I describe his history a little bit more, then maybe you can slightly understand where I'm coming from.

When my friend turned 18, he enrolled in college. He's a very smart dude, and we figured that he'd be one of the first in my group of friends to hold a decent career. He first started college 15 years ago. Finally, last year he got his BS degree in something computer related. Like I said, he's a smart dude, so he was able to get government grants and so on to pay for most of his schooling.

Throughout his schooling, the only "real" job experience that he had related to computers was as a computer lab assistant. He was laid off after a year or two in the job. This was back in late 2009. I'm not aware of any other jobs that he had besides working as a stock boy for a grocery store early in his college years. I do know that he takes advantage of hot deals and sells them on Ebay.

I've shared my job search experience with him a couple of times. I told him that he had to be realistic given the job market and the fact that he does not have any "real" job experience in the field that he's interested would count against him. He does mess around with programming mobile phone apps for the Android, but I'm not sure if employers would consider it unless he's got a famous phone app.

Anyway, come to think of it now, I guess I am just frustrated that for such a talented dude he is not applying himself to his fullest abilities.