10.2

[david austin]

A great double digit headline number for unemployment. Real Unemployment (which actually isnt all that accurate as well) is listed at 17.5%.

Does this matter?

Not really...

Not in a world where we can collect unemployment checks until the end of time!! I mean really... why bother searching for work when you know the government will keep passing out benefits like halloween candy?

[tricky]

Originally Posted by david austin

A great double digit headline number for unemployment. Real Unemployment (which actually isnt all that accurate as well) is listed at 17.5%.

Does this matter?

Not really...

Not in a world where we can collect unemployment checks until the end of time!! I mean really... why bother searching for work when you know the government will keep passing out benefits like halloween candy?

cause people who used to make 50k are happy to make less than 20k. Would you be happy making less than 70% of your previous income?


here in LA

The minimum weekly benefit amount of UI in Louisiana is $10.00. The maximum is currently $258. Your weekly benefit amount could be anywhere in this range, depending upon the total amount of wages paid to you during your base period. The total amount of unemployment insurance benefits payable to you would be equal to the lesser of 26 times your weekly benefit amount or 27% of your total base period wages.

That's $13,416/year. Try living off that. Hell...I make more than that, need more, and look forward to making more.

[J. Fees]

yeah, unemployment is def. not going to make anyone rich. if you are happy with a little bitty chk every week, more power to ya.

[HomoSexualPredator]

Originally Posted by tricky

cause people who used to make 50k are happy to make less than 20k. Would you be happy making less than 70% of your previous income?


here in LA
That's $13,416/year. Try living off that. Hell...I make more than that, need more, and look forward to making more.

time to pop out some babies and get that welfare check!!!!

[BrandonQ]

If he can find enjoyment from living off the government then his life is already enriched lol.

[likwid]

i know a guy who was previously on unemployment, then got a job, and then quit his job because he was making more on unemployment.... >.<

[tricky]

DA, i saw your status...i know you checked this. Explain to me why someone would be content making 13K (pretax max) on unemployment instead of looking for a job.

[david austin]

I was not implying content. More towards the fact that free money for doing nothing isnt a very good incentive to make real corrective action.

Benefits have been extended THREE times during this recession. Where do you draw the line? After all... the tab will only fall on our future gens.

At this point people are still living off of the fat of the good times. Tapping the 401k, selling off property, taking part time work (not included in headline unemployment). You can work hard labor/self serve type work and still collect standard unemployment.

Much like welfare... When there is a handout...

[tricky]

Originally Posted by david austin

I was not implying content. More towards the fact that free money for doing nothing isnt a very good incentive to make real corrective action.

Benefits have been extended THREE times during this recession. Where do you draw the line? After all... the tab will only fall on our future gens.

At this point people are still living off of the fat of the good times. Tapping the 401k, selling off property, taking part time work (not included in headline unemployment). You can work hard labor/self serve type work and still collect standard unemployment.

Much like welfare... When there is a handout...

You are implying that the entire nation is lazy and happy to accept a meager handout instead of trying to get a good paying job. If that's the case...who fucking cares about the future.

I'm saying no one can live off the max benefits of welfare and that if a person had a choice between making 50k or 13k/selling off everything they own, they'd take the 50k JOB.

[david austin]

Originally Posted by tricky

You are implying that the entire nation is lazy and happy to accept a meager handout instead of trying to get a good paying job. If that's the case...who fucking cares about the future.

I'm saying no one can live off the max benefits of welfare and that if a person had a choice between making 50k or 13k/selling off everything they own, they'd take the 50k JOB.

Wow... you got the tongue and cheek joke.

And the ultimate problem is that there are plenty of jobs that fall between those two numbers. As has been discussed to death... most Americans are reluctant to take jobs they view as beneath them. Why? For a whole host of reasons that you could debate until you are blue in the face.

The reversion to the mean will only start when people accept any employment as a means to personal responsibility for themselves/family... even if that includes being a janitor or burger flipper.

My point about selling off assets was pointing out that people are just now starting to come to the end of that rope... When there is nothing else left but acceptance that you must do something to put food on the table.

The large majority of people still 'hope' that a full blown 'back to the high life' recovery is in play so they dont have to take that step down.

The new normal will show those highs will likely never be achieved again in real terms.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by david austin

A great double digit headline number for unemployment. Real Unemployment (which actually isnt all that accurate as well) is listed at 17.5%.

Does this matter?

Not really...

Not in a world where we can collect unemployment checks until the end of time!! I mean really... why bother searching for work when you know the government will keep passing out benefits like halloween candy?

Because I really don't like peanut butter.... that and some people still have a sense of integrity and pride that informs their moral imperative not to burden others with the responsibility of providing for them?

I know that that principle confuses some ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_...with_Kansas%3F ) but other people still value personal accountability and don't expect others to pay their rent.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by tricky

That's $13,416/year. Try living off that. Hell...I make more than that, need more, and look forward to making more.

You're a pup with no formally completed education. Middle-class income is an aspiration not an expectation by virtue of being an Amnerican. You work hard to get there... you don't start there.

HOW TO AVOID POVERTY AND ENTER THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS

The conventional wisdom says that if we want to increase opportunities for children, we should give their families more income. Of course money is a factor in upward mobility, but it isn't the only one; it may not even be the most important, says the Brookings Institution.


According to Brookings:

• If you want to avoid poverty and join the middle class in the United States, you need to do three things: Complete high school (at a minimum), work full time and marry before you have children.
• If you do all three, your chances of being poor fall from 12 percent to 2 percent, and your chances of joining the middle class or above rise from 56 to 74 percent.
• Brookings defines middle class as having an income of at least $50,000 a year for a family of three.

Many American families need supplements to their incomes in the form of food stamps, affordable housing and welfare payments. But such aid should not be given unconditionally, says Brookings:

• The public is concerned that unconditional assistance will end up supporting those who are not trying to help themselves.
• New research in economics and psychology has shown that individuals frequently behave in ways that undermine their long-term welfare and can benefit from a government nudge in the right direction.

Policies with strings attached have had considerable success, says Brookings. One example is the 1996 welfare reform law, which required most adult recipients to get jobs, and dramatically increased employment and lowered overall child poverty. In the midst of a recession, we can't expect everyone to work. But social policies will be more successful if they encourage people to do things that bring longer-term success.


Source: Isabel V. Sawhill and Ron Haskins, "Five Myths About Our Land of Opportunity," Brookings Institute, November 1, 2009.

For text:
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/20...l_haskins.aspx

Brookings is center left, and generally reliable.. these comments ^ are not controversial