A Scolding to the Employed from the long term unemployed, Part I

We go to job club on Wednesdays, which is a networking group. Our facilitator reminds us to the employed the unemployment rate is 0%. I wrote the letter below to a placement consultant in California on July 8th this year. He appeared on that day and complained that he couldn't get anyone to work, that they would rather stay unemployed instead of take perfectly good engineering jobs in the Pacific NW rather than stay home and save daycare money. I was especially frustrated and depressed because I had just been informed that a promising job (after a good interview) had gone to another candidate who was more "on point".

I'll let the rest of the letter speak for itself. Btw, I never got a reply from Mr. Dinse. No followup, not even a request for a resume. So, Mr. Dinse, do you really have all those jobs going unfilled?

Dear Mr. Dinse,

Your comments on Neil Cavuto's show today were irresponsible and continue to foster false notions regarding the unemployed. I was watching FoxNews this afternoon, as I frequently do most afternoons, because I am unemployed. I have been unemployed for over a year and will probably one of those who will lose benefits this week because I have exhausted all of my extensions. Ironically, I support the Republican senators decision not to vote for any further extensions unless they were paid for, it's the refusal of the Democrats to fund the much needed extensions with unspent stimulus funds that angers me most.

I despise being unemployed and it's more than the loss of income, a standard of living and a way of life I have spent the past 20 years pursuing. It's the boredom that so easily drifts into a loss of purpose and, all too often, depression. I don't have any projects around the house to do because my home now is a 300 square foot 5th wheel RV. You see, Mr. Dinse, my husband, has also been unemployed for over a year and last fall we liquidated a small retirement account to buy a 10 year old RV and the truck needed to tow it. Of course we had to take the tax hit, but we had enough money to buy what we needed, hoping that being mobile would open up more job opportunities for us. So far that hasn't been the case.

Nor do we have the young children to spend time with, or be concerned with paying child care expense. We belong to the "Too old to hire, too young to retire" club. We are used goods, and with each month, with each week that passes and we continue jobless, our value declines. Most of the unemployed long for a job and are responsible about trying to find work. In Texas, we have requirements of job searches each week and we are required to keep records of our job searches in the event we are audited. Yes, there are liars and stinkers in every group, but many of us go to job clubs and networking groups where we vent. About once a month, a miracle happens and we get an interview and while we think we did great, somebody else gets chosen for a position we know that we could do very, very well. We can't help but wonder how much younger the lucky candidate is that beat us out. Then, we read articles on various websites reporting that one culling technique used by many HR departments is to just throw out the resumes of anyone who isn't currently unemployed.

What follows is often days of devastation and despair, and for me, more than a few tears, and fear, wondering what is going to happen to us and worried that our kids will feel obligated to take care of us when they need to be building their own lives. In our case, both of us are degreed professionals with proven track records in our professions. Two years ago, we were making around 100K between the two of us and living in a lovely townhouse, putting away money in our 401K's. Now we live in a RV park in a small town in Texas because it's either safer or cheaper than one in a metro area. Last fall, I had to go through all of our possessions and memorabilia and figure out what we could keep in a 10X10 storage unit. The rest we either gave away or threw away, things like kid's report cards and stuffed animals and my jewelry chest that was a Christmas gift from my husband six Christmas's ago. Things like that just don't fit in an RV. I'm thinking I should write a book, calling it "Riches to Rags".

We watch a lot of FoxNews, probably too much, because it just adds to the worry and despair with talks about a double dip recession. Then, there are people like you or some of the other clowns I hear on the financial shows on Saturday morning. They pontificate with smug tones that the unemployed are just on a vacation and to extend their benefits it's just going to encourage them to stay that way. I'm sure there's a few, but most of us live fearful lives of just getting by, still able to refuse proffered charity from our church. Yes, we make more than minimum wage on UI, approximately $400 per week for each of us, before taxes, which is another subject. We are paid that amount based on what we used to make and that is the max that is paid. For over a year, I've been applying for administrative assistants jobs that pay less than half of what I used to make, but I never get a call on those because I'm "over-qualified". We really want to be working.

I have written you this letter because what you said hurts people in a very real way. It perpetuates the myths that lead notions like: The reason that you don't have a job after a year is because you don't want to work. Maybe I don't have a job because of people like you. Your remarks were careless and unthinking, and I suspect that you took an isolated incident or two plus anecdotal gossip and parleyed into an irresponsible generalization.

I hope I have given you something to think about, and that you will think carefully before you speak without knowing about other people's lives. There are 15 million of us out of work and my gut tells me that tonight there are at least 3-5 million faces with tears in their eyes, worried and wondering if they will ever work again.

Very truly,