A Day in the Life of the Long Term Unemployed

A Day in the Life of the Long Term Unemployed

I was scavenging around trying to rustle up some thing to eat this morning, when I thought to myself “Do these politicians arguing in Washington over the Debt/Deficit/Taxes actually understand what people are going through? After checking the fridge I reluctantly decided on 2 Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches only to find after spreading peanut butter on 2 slices of bread we were out of Jelly. Damm I thought, I wonder if any of those stuffed suits have ever had to make decisions like these.

Up until 7 ½ months ago I was considered “Upper Middle Class” earning slightly over $150K annually. Not the product of a 4 year University but rather a “Self-Funded” education through serving in the US Army (volunteer) during Vietnam so I could take advantage of the GI Bill education benefit. I came from a family of 10 and by the time I became of college age any and all surplus funds to send a kid through college were “Long Gone”. So I took one for the team, volunteered for the US Army and served in Southeast Asia servicing missiles to fund my college education.

A 2 year degree in Electronics, 2 Certification programs in Network Engineering and Process Controls later, I fit into the class of returning education professionals who continually improve their skills with ongoing education, certification, and many many licenses and security clearances.

I finally decided on Romian Noodles with frozen vegetables and an egg stirred in. I carefully measured out the additional Chicken Broth seasoning to give it flavor. Thank God for the little chest freezer stored in the garage which I stock up during the good times, I thought to myself.

I live frugally avoiding luxuries such as a Harley, Hummer, exorbitant House payment or trendy vacations to exotic locations. Instead rather I make a generous contribution to my 401K, overpay my Home loan every month and drive a 1993 Ford Escort which I had to rebuild the Cylinder Head on. I little tinkering with Port Polishing increased the MPG by 15% and I’ll happily take the increased savings over a $600 a month truck payment any day.

Anyway back to the unemployment – I can not count the number of resumes I have sent out nor can I tell you the frustration I have experienced watching the amounts of compensation offered gradually going lower and lower and even lower. I remember all too well in 1981 when Reagan took office the rampant Unemployment that ensued as a direct result of his economic policy using Unemployment to curb Inflation. I also remember the “Back to Work Wage Cut” many many Working Americans conceded to in order to regain full time employment. Then again in 1992, the McJobs wage cuts of 2002, and now the Wage Cuts have come back with a vengeance in 2011.


Well I am happy to report after several months of negotiations a serious Job offer has been placed on the table, signed and accepted. It only constitutes a 35% Cut in wages when the cost of Health Insurance is factored in. I know it seems awful but it is a lot better then unemployment and with Corporate America sitting of $ Trillions, they have all the leverage right now. Besides – short of major changes in US Energy policy I could stay at this job with their 3.3% cap on annual wage increases for another 14 years until I reach retirement age. Well that is unless the Huge Corporation doesn’t decide to close this aging facility and lay off the work force there. I’ll know for sure within 2 years if I see them making the necessary upgrades to operate the facility efficiently and economically.

Worse then that is looking to the future of my 3 sons. 2 are out of the house already, 1 gainfully employed at a job I feel beneath him making very low wages for a person expecting his first child. The other after being laid off is getting by hustling car parts out of junk yards and reselling them on Craig’s List. He hasn’t asked to move back home yet, but me and the wife have started cleaning out the spare bedroom already. A real shame a “Straight A Student” tested at Mensa Level Intelligence and halfway through a Degree in Mechanical Engineering would have to resort to that. Such is America in the land of drastic budget cuts and astronomical Wall St Profits. Reinvestment in our youth and education is merely a catch phrase designed to dupe “Low Information Voters”

Only 1 slight problem. The debilitating psychological depression I have been suffering as a result of my long term unemployment still hasn’t lifted. Again I’m quite sure our elected officials don’t even have the slightest clue of what I am talking about. Still others would accuse me of lying or attempting to milk the system. And with the prospects of what these Budget/Deficit Negotiations are going to do to America it isn’t likely to lift any time soon

This is just starting to seem less and less like America to me. Certainly not the America I remember defending when those Russian Migs circled my position so close I still remember seeing the pilot’s face. Definitely not the America I remember my mother telling me about where the “Middle Class was the Backbone of America” But more like the America where my Great Grandfather at 14 yrs old was sold into the Sweat Shops of New York in 1848 after his parents were jailed in Galway Ireland and sent to the penal colony in Australia. Ya – it’s a lot like that America

Today we are treated like a stock option waiting to be capitalized upon and traded in a lopsided bond market. No I’m pretty sure Washington has completely forgot what it means to be “American” and never ever ever knew what it was like to be on the roles of the “Long Term Unemployed”

He was a wunderkind computer programmer and has now been out of work for almost three years. I'm helping with paltry sums but I can't even imagine the pain he's going through.

Tech was moving too fast for educational institutions to keep up and during the mid 80s Dual Discipline was all the rage. I friend of mine who I studied Electronics Technology with later returned to night classes for a second AS in Business. He is still working with Intel 25+ years later as an R$D Engineer in the Memory Div.

Point is stagnation will kill you especially as the depression sets in. Best to explore other educational interest even at the community college level. Some of which can place you in a Highly sought after niche market.

But an easy 1 for him he could look at from home on the computer would be this http://libnodave.sourceforge.net/index.php

i think it should be seen by more than just us at the DU. and congratulations on the job; i do hope once back to work you'll be in a happier frame of mind. having said that, i have to agree with you re: this america. not mine either...:(

Argentina during Peron, or Russia after the Wall fell, and when the Russian mafia took over.

Any and every time the Milton Friedman "Free Market 'capitalism' " structure is forced on a population, you end up with a junta or else mafia style rule.

Our nation cannot expect to be any different.

The movie "the Shock Doctrine" details every lil bit of this.

If Naomi Klein is to be believed, these will be the "good ol' days." We could choose to have peanut butter sandwiches, while standing in front of the near empty fridge.

Believe me, it is only going to get worse.

And why would you overpay your mortgage if you're unemployed?

Of course since being laid off 7 1/2 months ago I haven't made any contributions to my 401K

And NO - I haven't been able to "Over pay" my mortgage either for the last 7 1/2 months. Actually My wife had to stop working a month ago because of her Health and I'm late on this months payment.

Additionally the $15,000 in my savings account is down to $938

I could have pointed out that someone with a 150k salary should take more than seven months to run out of money, but that would have been throwing rocks. I could have pointed out that plenty of people here consider 35% less than 150k to be a pretty decent salary... and wish that they could consider 7-8 months to be "long-term"... but I didn't.

I just wanted to better understand what you were writing.

Thanks for clarifying and congratulations on the new job. The depression is natural, but you don't have to let it win. It sounds like you've landed a good job in a VERY tough market. Concentrate on comparing it to what you lacked a month ago rather than the peak of your earning years. No... it isn't fair, but it is reality. You've had a solid success and you'll go farther in celebrating that than in lamenting what could have been.

Yes - perhaps the wrong choices financially

I thought avoiding the long term interest on my home loan by over paying the principal 200% would be a better choice in the long run. Actually I split any savings I had between the "Over Payment" and a separate "Passbook Savings Account" through a payroll deduction. Its easier for me to save that way. The point I was trying to make is I live very frugal

And yes I have scratched and clawed and changed direction and attended endless night classes to position myself in a good paying "Niche Marketable Career". The $150K comes from endless hours of dedication and extreme amounts of over time. Over time as much as 5 straight months of working 7ea 12 hour shifts per week last year - YES they got their pound of flesh

I can certainly see how it could have been read that way.

Yes - perhaps the wrong choices financially

Oh, I don't know. It sounds like your declined living standards were a testiment to that frugality that you were talking about. If you had the job for some time and were maxing out your 401(k) then there was probably a fair amount in there... but you didn't consider spending it to maintain a higher standard of living, you were trying to squeek by on as little as possible. Others wouldn't have made the same decisions. They wouldn't have gotten moving actively on their job search until severance and/or unemployment ran out and they wouldn't have been willing to consider a career with a lower salary until their other savings was tapped out (and maybe they ran up debt on cards/lines that were still open).

So it sounds like you made it through a really tough time because you were so frugal both before and after the job loss. Don't be depressed... be proud! The benefit of a "rainy day fund" is that when it rains, it's there to take care of you. Plenty of people (yes, including 6-figure earners) live paycheck to paycheck and could have been on the street six months later.

I will say that I agree that paying down the home wasn't the best move. I know that Dave Ramsey would have you pay it off as fast as possible, but I've never agreed with that. The problem with overpaying on a home is that you can't get the money out when you need it without refinancing (which won't happen if you're unemployed) or selling the home. If the same money went into savings/investments then you could always pay off the home early if you wanted to, but can still get to the money if the worst happens.

And hey! If the new job comes with that salary without months and months of overtime, you might decide that this one is actually better for your family! I remember taking a small step down at one point for a job that took me off the road and had more reliable hours. I didn't realize it at the time but the tradeoff was more than worth it.

I'm no accountant but it just felt better paying down principal avoiding 175% interest on a 30 year home loan in today's markets. And No - it wasn't because i listen to a few too many Dave Ramsey, "Live Debt Free" infomercials.

I do have the option to draw on my 401K and pay the penalties - so the funds are not completely out of reach for me

I guess the MAIN motivational factor is Retirement seems completely unobtainable factoring in a "House Payment" because unregulated Healthcare Cost will certainly equal the amount of today's house payments by then. But yes - even with all the savings the numbers don't work unless the house is paid off

GAWD - It feels so utterly gut wrenching to think of my children on a path of "Work till you Drop" as Wall St and Corp America have done so much pension raiding and are working feverishly to destroy even the most meager of social safety nets.

Social Security and unemployment benefits. I have been socking away the unemployment benefits. That money will end in October unless I can get an extension. No employer is going to hire me now since I am 72 years old. And if SS benefits are cut, I am going to need every dollar that I can save. I can understand how the OP can make generous 401K contributions. I have a few thousand in my savings account but only enough to sustain me for about 3 years.

Our crisis brought about such economic calamity that it wiped out our retirement.

But glad if this person has figured out how to manage both those items.

My father was long-term unemployed. My mother had long-term health issues. We were on welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid. It is a humiliating way to live and die. You don't live very well, either.

I grew up terrified of being unemployed. To this day, the very idea fills me with panic.

I wish you well in your new position, FDJ. I know how you feel.

My employer is looking for a network engineer. The pay wouldn't be up to your customary level, but the company is growing.

:hug:

It sucks for him, and frankly it sucks for me worse because I have to listen to and deal with his depressed ass.

No stone throwing from me, just compassion, respect and best wishes for the future.

- B

Some of these large companies today are as un-American as you can get. I can pick out 10 things in my house and almost to a fault, 8-10 of these are made in China. What the heck is made here anymore? The Republicans haven't realized that rich folks pushing paper around and poor folks doing their bidding IS NOT THE AMERICA I GREW UP IN NOR IS IT THE AMERICAN DREAM.

I appreciate your message about being unemployed. Unless you've been laid off or lost your job in this economy, it is hard to understand the frustration that comes with long-term unemployment. You would think the loss of tax revenues due to this alone would be enough to have the government focus on job creation.

GREED is going to be the downfall of this country. The rich should be paying more taxes (at least for a little while), that's how this nation became the envy of the world. Tax cuts for wealthy benefactors? Yeah, I'm tired of the scheme too.

I don't get the sense that Obama gets it when he "negotiates" with the GOP. He should let the country go into default and everyone will know to blame the GOP. The racial part of their being against Obama is TOO OBVIOUS to mention here, but these idiots need to be called out on this nonsense. Except for a few, no one in the media....other than a few on MSNBC and some bloggers and a couple of Hollywood stars seem to care.

God Bless the USA, indeed.

Why did you buy that made in China stuff?

Politicians are well aware of the debilitating psychological depression that can be associated with long term unemployment. I am sure that this is a documented phenomena even though there may be no published studies on the subject. I promise they are aware of this.

One of the best OPs I have read here at DU. Has everything. From the heart. Ups. Downs. But a happy ending.

Take care of yourself. And another thing. You probably already know this but you are going to make it. You are a survivor. It is obvious.

Don

"debilitating psychological depression" is what's hit many of us.
I've been out of work for 2 years and 9 months.
I feel like I'm carrying a bloated, stinking elephant tied to my back.

And maybe I am.

I`m genuinely thrilled you found a job. My best to you.

I wished all of the unemployed had your 'happy ending'.

My sister got laid off last month. She was one of the last to go since she had the longest employment with the company; even longer than the current owners. They finally closed the business. She's 57. She'll probably never work again. I feel bad for her except that she's a flaming tea bagger who is now applying for SS Disability because she lost her arm 14 yrs ago and won't find employment. Watches Faux Spews every day and blames Obama for everything. She hates Welfare Queens but is now a certified Hypocrite. We don't talk much anymore because she's 'one of them.'

should consider emigrating to another country. I think for many young people that may be the only hope.

go to another country if he can't find a job. Degreed Scientist. He (and many other young people) is convinced this country is on the skids to no return.

Times are very sad for many, especially our youth & elderly. At least the youth have some options. :cry:

situation. Mine is--DH was laid off 6 months ago and at age 60 I doubt he will ever work again. A fit, cheerful, hard-working loyal employee who has sent out at the very least hundreds of resumes and submitted at least an equal number of online applications with a grand total of two interviews--for $9/hr jobs (and he didn't get them because he didn't have experience in the field.) I have two sons struggling with part time jobs who want full time and just aren't finding anything. What gets me is, in real life I don't know anyone in this boat. My family and co-workers are all doing just fine. I read of many people here but where are the national statistics on this? Of course our beloved politicians never bring it up.

Best wishes to you on your new job!

It is just soooo freaking tough right now. Can't tell you how relieved I am that I'm just waiting for the Corp to finish processing my paperwork before I return to work

But here are the age stats and as you well see the under 30 crowd is taking the brunt of the layoffs.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat3.pdf

But some thing tells me the stats are Way Different for Long Term Unemployment as I feel it takes older workers much longer to re-enter the work force

Even when I was getting UI checks, the depression was so much worse than the finances (then again I am a fairly healthy young adult with no kids & no debt who lives with family. So I can afford to say 'money isn't everything' because right now it isn't to me). Even after I eventually found a job, the depression was so bad I almost got fired because my depression was causing me problems. Luckily I got it under control and am ok now.

But the depression, hopelessness and despondency is the worst. I really wish my self worth wasn't so tied to a job. But it is. And I don't know how to change that. I admire people who do, but I don't know how.

for sharing your challenges and your journey. Yours and others need to be told over and over.

The financial challenges are bad enough, but the depression on top of it. We are raised to be identified by our occupations... "Hi, my name is Dave, and I'm an accountant"... and even in the obituaries we are identified that way, as though our occupation is part of our soul. So... to be unemployed is to be missing a vital piece, and of feeling like a failure to provide for yourself and your family. Been that way for a long time.

The mental part of it is something a lot of folks do not understand because they have not experienced it.

Regarding your comments about whether the politicians understand about people who are going through the agony of unemployment, HELL NO they don't understand. They live in a bubble. That's why they are still playing pussy-foot with the Republicans. Our politicians have become a world unto themselves. They are shielded from the effects of their inaction, their incompetence, their cowardice, and their perfidy.

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that really hit home:


Drain the Swamp. Re-elect NO ONE!!


Thanks for posting your story. REC.

DRIP = Don't Reelect Incumbent Politicians

While I'll agree a level of purge is necessary we have to careful about where and when. Cutting off the DLC at the knees was a good first step.

I'm curious. When did that happen? How in the hell did I miss it? I would have paid good money to be there?

Sometimes I miss a news cycle. Was that a recent event?

for your depression, have you tried good ole fish oil? It alone has helped many people keep ahead of the mild depression monster. There are some other ideas here,

http://www.herbal-cures.org/natural-remedies-for-depression-part-3.html

Congratulations on your job!! I'm thrilled for you.

Mailing off a couple of payments and getting the "Wizz Quizz" Date (urinalysis drug screening) lifted my spirits up today.

But thanks for the tip. I think my wife has some of those around here, I'll give them a try. But since you said "Fish Oil" helps, I think I'll pull a couple of Ahi Tuna cuts out of the freezer and celebrate the pending results of my pre-employment drug screening

:)