# I pit Poverty and the current economic crisis **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487 "2009-01-01T18:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [January 1, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/41 "2009-01-01T23:55:03Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > Why can’t you find a job? I know that our local papers are _filled_with job listings. Granted, some of them are “nationwide” scam-kinda listings, but there are still many, many jobs. I am a paralegal, and out of curiosity, I always check the clerical/admin type of jobs. There are tons of them around here, and that’s just in my field. As I said, I _have_ found work - in construction and retail, of all things, but nothing fulltime or lasting. It’s not _enough_ work and it’s not _enough_ money. My savings are slowly dwindling over time as they must cover anything my meager paychecks don’t. I suspect one factor in my difficulty is a company policy of my former employer. They will _only_ confirm that you were employed, the dates of employment, and that you were either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. I can not get a reference from any current employee of that company because to give out such information is very clearly spelled out as a firing offense (and yes, in my 13 years there I did see people fired for doing just that). These days, given the competition for jobs, if you can’t get a glowing recommendation from your former manager you’re shit out of luck. EVERYONE laid off from that company goes through this shit, but these days it really works against a person. All the positive recommendations from other former employees, including high level management, immediate supervisors, and peers, apparently is not sufficient. They want the most recent manager who, still being employed there and in fear of her own job, is not going to risk getting fired for my benefit. Thus, I am trying to build up a rep as a good worker doing other jobs so I can deliver more current references saying how wonderful I am. But this takes time. Meanwhile, my savings bleed. Being over 40 doesn’t help either. Yes, I know age discrimination is illegal, but it still happens. I applied, and still apply, for administrative work and in 13 months I’ve only managed to get three interviews total. Hence, I also applied for retail and asked a general contractor I know for work. Neither pays anything near what I earned before and neither is fulltime, but it’s better than nothing. Trust me, for every listed job there will be a LOT of people applying and only one gets in the door. So far, my best prospect is still the government job I applied for, but the hiring process takes _months_ and I’m still going through it. I’m really hoping it comes through before I’m out of money. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/42 "2009-01-01T23:57:22Z")
> [@Carol\_Stream](#): > > Hey, do what you want, but lying on your job application doesn’t sound like a particularly good strategy to me. I have two addresses - one a residence, one mailing address. They are actually in two different (although neighboring) cities. When giving the mailing address (and not just to employers but to other things, like government agencies) I state “this is a mailing address, not my street address. Is that OK?” If the other party says yes it’s OK. If they insist on a street address then that’s what I have to give. That’s not lying in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/43 "2009-01-02T00:03:47Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I have two addresses - one a residence, one mailing address. They are actually in two different (although neighboring) cities. When giving the mailing address (and not just to employers but to other things, like government agencies) I state “this is a mailing address, not my street address. Is that OK?” If the other party says yes it’s OK. If they insist on a street address then that’s what I have to give. That’s not lying in any way. It is to give out your friend’s address, instead of your own. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/44 "2009-01-02T00:04:41Z")
> [@Carol\_Stream](#): > > It is to give out your friend’s address, instead of your own. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/45 "2009-01-02T00:07:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’m torn between a wish for them to learn the error of their ways and the immorality of wishing harm on another human being. Then, you’re a better person than me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/46 "2009-01-02T00:07:43Z")
> [@Carol\_Stream](#): > > It is to give out your friend’s address, instead of your own. Uh wasn’t he moving in with his friends anyway? ---
**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:** [January 2, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/47 "2009-01-02T00:12:14Z")
> [@Carol\_Stream](#): > > It is to give out your friend’s address, instead of your own. If you clearly state “This is not my residence, this is a place I receive mail” and the other party says OK to that _there is nothing wrong with using that address_. It could be a business, a PO box, a relative, one of those places that sell mailboxes outside of the USPS… as long as all parties are agreeable it’s OK. Why do you have trouble understanding that? ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/48 "2009-01-02T00:23:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If you clearly state “This is not my residence, this is a place I receive mail” and the other party says OK to that _there is nothing wrong with using that address_. It could be a business, a PO box, a relative, one of those places that sell mailboxes outside of the USPS… as long as all parties are agreeable it’s OK. Why do you have trouble understanding that? Maybe, but that’s not what **Harriet the Spry** suggested. She said to use someone’s address/phone that was closer to new city, but there is no indication that the OP receives mail/calls there. In other words, a lie. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/49 "2009-01-02T00:25:25Z")
**Carol Stream** , how lovely to see you back! You had an enjoyable holiday, I trust? Made all the cheerier, I’m sure, by driving past the homeless shelters where people were lining up for a Christmas dinner, rolling down your window, and shrieking at them to GET A JOB! ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/50 "2009-01-02T00:28:59Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Oh, for fuck’s sake. Of course it’s about himself. He’s pitting the current economy _because_ it’s the \*\*primary \*\*cause of the rough time he’s in now. How else is he going to explain it without talking about, y’know, his circumstances. :rolleyes: right back atcha. The bolded part is wrong. > [@](#): > > What makes you think I’m in the same situation? Didn’t say or imply you were. > [@](#): > > But, making a point of that in a thread started by someone in a world of financial hurt would be crass. I may be a lot of things, but the kind of guy who pees in someone’s cheerios after they tell me his life SUCKS isn’t one of them. Usually. If the OP’s position were just “my life sucks right now,” then I wouldn’t have posted in this thread. Intead, he’s blaming the economy instead of his bad decisions and then complaining he’s got to do some hard work. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/51 "2009-01-02T00:31:53Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > If the OP’s position were just “my life sucks right now,” then I wouldn’t have posted in this thread. Intead, he’s blaming the economy instead of his bad decisions and then complaining he’s got to do some hard work. So, can you tell us about the bad decisions he made that put him in his situation? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/52 "2009-01-02T00:32:04Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > There are NO, repeat NO want ads in the local papers, not even for crap jobs. It’s been like that for weeks. The expectation is that it will only get worse. See, that claim is a little different from this: > [@Broomstick](#): > > Perhaps someone had stolen the want ads from every copy of the paper at that newstand. All I know is that I couldn’t find a copy of the paper that had want ads in it. The latter suggests that not finding the want ads was a one-time thing. The first one suggests that there are no “repeat, NO” ads, and it’s been like that for weeks. So which is it? From my perch, it sure looks like “NO, repeat NO” claim is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/53 "2009-01-02T00:32:18Z")
> [@Originally Posted by Rand Rover](#): > > If the OP’s position were just “my life sucks right now,” then I wouldn’t have posted in this thread. Intead, he’s blaming the economy instead of his bad decisions and then complaining he’s got to do some hard work. What evidence do you have that his troubles are largely due to bad decisions as opposed to the economic downturn? IOW, please cite a single bad decision the OP has revealed to us that he’s made. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/54 "2009-01-02T00:34:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The likes of **Rand Rover** like to think that when people suffer misfortune it’s all the victim’s fault because that magically insulates them from harm as, of course, the **Rand Rover’s** of the world only make good decisions, never mistakes, and factors outside themselves can’t possibly hurt them. Well who the hell else’s fault is it? Winston Churchill’s? Barack Obama’s? Sigmund Freud’s? > [@](#): > > I’m torn between a wish for them to learn the error of their ways and the immorality of wishing harm on another human being. I’ll never find myself in the position of not being able to find a job. You know why? I’ve worked my ass off since I learned to walk and I have developed skills and experience that are in high demand. So I’m not going to pat some loser on the head when he hasn’t gone to college and complains about not being able to find work as an unskilled laborer. You can wish for the same thing as the OP to happen to me all you want but it won’t because I’ve made it impossible. I may at some point have to take a job that pays less than my current job (or less than I’m making at that point), but I won’t be on the streets. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/55 "2009-01-02T00:35:43Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > IOW, please cite a single bad decision the OP has revealed to us that he’s made. He hasn’t been to college. He has no ability to get work other than as an unsilled laborer. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/56 "2009-01-02T00:39:28Z")
OH NO EVERYBODY! I just walked outside in the rain and got all wet!! Please put parentheses and brackets around my username and suggest ways that I may dry myself (note that I have no shower, clothes dryer, towels, spare blankets, paper towels, tissues, newspapers, rugs, etc.). Thanks guys!! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/57 "2009-01-02T00:39:32Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > What evidence do you have that his troubles are largely due to bad decisions as opposed to the economic downturn? IOW, please cite a single bad decision the OP has revealed to us that he’s made. I don’t know about the OP, but I believe that the lack of resourcefulness exhibited by **Broomstick** with respect to finding want ads is fairly characterized as a poor choice or poor effort. We’ve learned from **Sateryn76** that there are multiple pages of want ads in the local paper **Broomstick** is using. For **Broomstick** to throw up hands and say, “there are NO, repeat NO” want ads is a pretty good indication of either a tendency to exaggerate to the point of lying, or of a complete inability to bring ordinary adult skills to a relatively simple task – in either case, frankly, not qualities I’d seek as an employer. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/58 "2009-01-02T00:40:04Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > So I’m not going to pat some loser on the head when he hasn’t gone to college and complains about not being able to find work as an unskilled laborer. Hey, moron, guess what? Not everyone who wants to go to college actually can. Not everyone wants to go to college, anyway. Not everyone is capable of making it through college, even if neither of the above apply. You did. So, did I. But, that doesn’t give either of us the right to look down on those who didn’t. Besides having a fancy college degree is NOT a guarantee against becoming unemployed. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/59 "2009-01-02T00:44:45Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Hey, moron, guess what? Not everyone who wants to go to college actually can. Not everyone wants to go to college, anyway. Not everyone is capable of making it through college, even if neither of the above apply. You did. So, did I. But, that doesn’t give either of us the right to look down on those who didn’t. > > Besides having a fancy college degree is NOT a guarantee against becoming unemployed. Sorry. Not sure how any of that is relevant. I’m just saying that the OP failed to do anything to be able to get jobs as other than an unskilled laborer. You’ve conveniently ignored by response to your post on this above. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/60 "2009-01-02T00:46:29Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > He hasn’t been to college. He has no ability to get work other than as an unsilled laborer. So, each and every person who wants to get a degree in a field in high demand can get it? Regardless of his circumstances, regardless of his capacities? Also, did you miss the part where the OP wants to go to college but can’t due to the circumstances? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487.md?page=4)