# God, this sucks (unemployment) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 12, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918 "2011-12-12T16:18:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Naxos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@Naxos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naxos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/61 "2011-12-21T04:51:53Z")
So, This unemployed person that I know is collecting several hundred dollars per month in unemployment… the State Agency informed her employer of the monthly amount and I have access to that information… she drives in her brand new Mercedes Benz SUV to the place that I and everyone else can see her… and still collecting unemployment benefits. I don’t think anyone is blaming these types of leaches for abuse… Just blame the poor. And the minorities. And then vote Republican. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/62 "2011-12-21T05:07:00Z")
> [@Naxos](#): > > So, > > This unemployed person that I know is collecting several hundred dollars per month in unemployment… the State Agency informed her employer of the monthly amount and I have access to that information… she drives in her brand new Mercedes Benz SUV to the place that I and everyone else can see her.. and still collecting unemployment benefits. > > I don’t think anyone is blaming these types of leaches for abuse… > > Just blame the poor. > > And the minorities. > > And then vote Republican. You can’t be too tough on someone like this unless you know their whole situation. They may have purchased that car when times were good and their layoff caught them off-guard. And it’s the only transportation option they have now. Also, collecting unemployment isn’t a crime, so if she’s entitled to it, and is going to be on it for a while, she may just be doing what she needs to do to make her ends meet. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/63 "2011-12-21T12:50:10Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > You can’t be too tough on someone like this unless you know their whole situation. They may have purchased that car when times were good and their layoff caught them off-guard. And it’s the only transportation option they have now. > > Also, collecting unemployment isn’t a crime, so if she’s entitled to it, and is going to be on it for a while, she may just be doing what she needs to do to make her ends meet. And if its brand new, chances are really good she can’t get enough for the car to pay off the loan. Rock, meet hard place. Besides, unemployment is an insurance program your employer pays into on behalf of you while you work. Granted, its currently supplemented by the general funds because its underfunded, but my employer pays me less (its part of my total compensation) so I have unemployment if I get laid off. Hell, yes, I’m taking it. Just like I’ll take my social security check and every deduction I’m entitled to. Until these things are means tested, its my money - even though I really wouldn’t NEED an unemployment check (as long as my well paid spouse kept his job). ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/64 "2011-12-21T14:42:10Z")
> [@Naxos](#): > > So, > > This unemployed person that I know is collecting several hundred dollars per month in unemployment… the State Agency informed her employer of the monthly amount and I have access to that information… she drives in her brand new Mercedes Benz SUV to the place that I and everyone else can see her.. and still collecting unemployment benefits. > > I don’t think anyone is blaming these types of leaches for abuse… > > Just blame the poor. > > And the minorities. > > And then vote Republican. I agree that people like to put a poor, brown-skinned face on welfare fraud, but UI isn’t welfare or means-tested. You do not have to be in abject poverty to collect it–otherwise most people would not be eligible for it. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/65 "2011-12-21T16:44:03Z")
Y’know **Voyager** , I’ve been trying to do the “get in contact with the hiring manager” thing, and the most amazing thing is just how hard it is. Sometimes, I literally can’t get in touch with anyone at all; the phone systems are designed seemingly to block out all possible contact. Leave a message, and you get nowhere. Ask HR, and they sometimes have no clue who is involved themselves! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/66 "2011-12-21T17:27:02Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Y’know **Voyager** , I’ve been trying to do the “get in contact with the hiring manager” thing, and the most amazing thing is just how hard it is. Sometimes, I literally can’t get in touch with anyone at all; the phone systems are designed seemingly to block out all possible contact. Leave a message, and you get nowhere. Ask HR, and they sometimes have no clue who is involved themselves! Of course it’s hard! I’m already trying to avoid telemarketers, vendors, my 6 bosses, my annoying clients and wierdo stalkers looking for a job they aren’t qualified for. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/67 "2011-12-21T19:02:27Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Of course it’s hard! I’m already trying to avoid telemarketers, vendors, my 6 bosses, my annoying clients and wierdo stalkers looking for a job they aren’t qualified for. Hey! Including me in a list with your boss and telemarketers?! That’s a low blow, man. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/68 "2011-12-21T22:51:08Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Of course it’s hard! I’m already trying to avoid telemarketers, vendors, my 6 bosses, my annoying clients and wierdo stalkers looking for a job they aren’t qualified for. https://www.youtube.com/embed/O-iQpwT0T7E?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque Not work safe obviously. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/69 "2011-12-22T01:11:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Starbucks, Kmart, Target, fast food, etc. are the GOOD jobs these days, the ones where you are indoors, aren’t too hazardous to your health, and you don’t go home at night smelling like sewage. That’s why for every opening they have there can be 50 applicants, 40 of them overqualified and with college degrees. The competition for those jobs is _immense_ - but, obviously, you don’t see that. You might see “Home Depot hires 5,000 in the Chicago area” as a headline, but you’re clueless that 20,000 people applied and two months later Home Depot laid off half or three quarters of those people. > > snip. Is is possible to land a job, even a part-time gig, at Starbucks, KMart, Target, etc. if one has no experience working in retail? Just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/70 "2011-12-22T01:12:14Z")
Just asking because, as part-time college faculty, I am unemployed at the end of every semester. Maybe I should be delivering pizza or something. Anything, really. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/71 "2011-12-22T01:52:11Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > **Broomstick** did a fantastic job of addressing much of the gobsmackingly self-absorbed drivel you posted earlier, **BeaMyra** , but I really just have to address this. > > Five applicants for one job? > > Really? > > I mean seriously, do you live in Oz or Barsoom or Neverland or some other fictional place and just _call_ it Chicago? > . This. After 3 1/2 years of unemployment/underemployment the job I got had a hiring ratio of 1000:1 applicants. This was a full time job at relatively low wages. Unemployment is a soul sucking descent into hell. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/72 "2011-12-22T02:12:30Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Is is possible to land a job, even a part-time gig, at Starbucks, KMart, Target, etc. if one has no experience working in retail? Just wondering. In theory, yes, especially if one is willing to work weekends, nights, and/or scrub toilets. (No, I’m not joking about the toilets.) In practice, of course, any retail experience gives you an advantage, and of course, those places have plenty of applicants for any opening. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/73 "2011-12-22T02:40:29Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Y’know **Voyager** , I’ve been trying to do the “get in contact with the hiring manager” thing, and the most amazing thing is just how hard it is. Sometimes, I literally can’t get in touch with anyone at all; the phone systems are designed seemingly to block out all possible contact. Leave a message, and you get nowhere. Ask HR, and they sometimes have no clue who is involved themselves! Phone systems have been designed to keep people like recruiters from collecting numbers, and you’re seeing the impact of that. Employee lists are considered company confidential, so you’ll never get much from HR. I don’t know what field you are in, but in many cases anyone in the field might be able to give you leads at other companies, even if they don’t have any openings at theirs. I’ve even done this at one time for a Doper. There are books of company listings at the library, and web sites of course (which will never have hiring manager names) and professional societies. And people who know people who know people. I got my current job because my neighbor was good friends with the HR person for a director who was looking for someone like me. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/74 "2011-12-22T02:43:51Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Of course it’s hard! I’m already trying to avoid telemarketers, vendors, my 6 bosses, my annoying clients and wierdo stalkers looking for a job they aren’t qualified for. I get calls from magazine people begging me to subscribe for free to magazines that have nothing to do with my work. I’ve never got the latter type of call - if they had a remote clue I might try to do something for them. If they think they can design computers because they know how to use Excel on the other hand. (I shouldn’t be too hard on them - that was just about the qualifications of the guy who ran the AT&T Computer Division for a time.) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918/75 "2011-12-22T14:32:14Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Hey! Including me in a list with your boss and telemarketers?! That’s a low blow, man. I didn’t ask you to be my client. It’s just more work for me!😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-this-sucks-unemployment/605918.md?page=3)