July 22

Wow! I'm finally getting around to posting a new entry here. I've been just too lazy, waiting for Congress to finally pass extended unemployment benefits because I've been out of work for over a year now and it sucks. I wonder sometimes if my age (53) has anything to do with not getting hired for position that I've sent my resume in for but haven't gotten an interview. Or, it is because I'm just too overqualified for the positions that I've been applying for? Or it is because the area of my expertise is in administrative work and that industry is full of women who tend to hire other women although women keep telling us that they are a different breed when it comes to managing. Some thoughts.

What gets me about Congress delaying the passage of the bill to extend unemployment benefits is that the Republicans kept saying that they didn't want to add to the Federal deficit although they had no problem doing so under Bush when passing the largest tax cuts to the wealthiest people in this country. Or saying that the unemployed people are lazy hobos who are being spoiled by this entitlement program and that they unemployed should be given drug tests in order to be eligible for continued payments. I've been looking for work for way too long and yes at times it becomes frustrating and depressing to be searching for a job only to be constantly turned down. Is it my fault that businesses that are hiring are looking at their bottom line and seeing my application and my age just gives them pause to hire because their worker compensation rate will be higher as well as their cost for health coverage. Is this discriminatory? Probably, but you can't actually prove it.

However, what got me more angry then anything is this. While listening to a radio program the other day where extending benefits to the unemployed was being debated, some gentleman from the Cato Institute was saying that maybe the unemployed should lower their expectations about regaining employment at the same rate of pay as they were receiving. He was saying that maybe if an employee went back to their old employer anad asked for the job back but at 50% of the salary their were receiving or getting a job at McDonald's for the minimum wage. You know what I say to this guy: Why don't you take a 50% pay cut so that the Cato Institute can hire another person to "think" about these issues in order to come up with the same stupid concepts.

There are so many directions I can take this conversation. Families that mortgage payments making minimum wage would devastate them; the morality of corporations and what has happened to this realm of responsibility of business; why is the middle class being wiped out in this country; illegal immigrants taking jobs away from legit Americans; the trickle down economic policy and why it really doesn't work.

But getting back to the issue of illegal immigrants taking jobs away. Again I was listening to the radio and again some right wing idiot was saying that those out of work were not accepting work that was legitimate like cleaning bathrooms, working on farms, etc. Well, I have no problem doing these jobs but I want fair pay for doing them. My thought on this issue is that we will never get a good immigration reform bill passed in this country because too many businesses depend upon hiring illegals in order to exploit them. Look at the meatpacking industry in this country. Do you really think that they want to hire Americans who then would demand that working conditions improve, have the right to organize an union, and follow OSHA regulations for worker safety? I doubt it. These companies make too much money by sidestepping regulations for worker safety as well as consumer safety. If an illegal demanded better wages or complained about plant safety, they are then threatened with deportation or just fired for some petty reason. Do you realize also how much some things would increase in price by hiring Americans? I am specifically thinking about food in this country. If we didn't have the illegals planting and harvesting the food grown here the cost of something as simple as iceberg lettuce would triple and people in this country would just not tolerate price increases such as that.

Anyway.... Some of my rantings for the day. I will continue to post everyday because I just have too much to say and this is a good way for me to get it off my chest as well as put it out there for others to consider and hopefully respond with their thoughts. I like being challenged on my ideas so that I can hear other options that I haven't thought about in addition to ironing out the wrinkles in my arguments. In the meantime, everyone have a good day and I'll be here tomorrow.