When the Kindness of Strangers is Not Enough

In Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the character Blanche Dubois famously declared, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Her line came to mind this week when I read a front page story in The New York Times. “99 Weeks Later, Jobless Have Only Desperation.” The article reports on the “jobless Americans whose members have taken to calling themselves ‘99ers,’ because they have exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits that they can claim.”

One of them, Alexandra Jarrin, a 49-year old woman who only 2 years ago was director of client services earning $56,000 at a small company in the New York area and was pursuing an M.B.A., lost her job in 2008. After her 99 weeks of unemployment benefits expired this summer, she moved into a motel room in Vermont with money donated by friends that paid for a one week stay. The story continues:

Ms. Jarrin had scrabbled for her foothold in the middle class. She graduated from college late in life, in 2003, attending classes while working full time. She used to believe that education would be her ticket to prosperity, but is now bitter about what it has gotten her.

“I owe $92,000 for an education which is basically worthless,” she said.

Last year she moved to Brentwood, Tenn., south of Nashville, in search of work. After initially trying to finish her M.B.A. program remotely, she dropped out because of the stress from her sinking finances. She has applied for everything from minimum-wage jobs to director positions.

She should have been evicted from her two-bedroom apartment several months ago, but the process was delayed when flooding gripped middle Tennessee in May. In mid-July, a judge finally gave her 10 days to vacate.

Helped by some gas cards donated by a church, she decided to return to this quiet New England town, where she had spent most of her adult life. She figured the health care safety net was better, as well as the job market.

She contacted a local shelter but learned there was a waiting list. Welfare is not an option, because she does not have young children. She says none of her three adult sons are in a position to help her.

A friend wired her $200 while she was driving from Tennessee, enabling her to check into a motel along the way and helping to pay for her stay here. But Ms. Jarrin doubts that much more charity is coming.

“The only help I’m going to get is from myself,” she said. “I’m going to have to take care of me. That has to be through a job.”

Ms. Jarrin is not alone. As of July there were 14.6 million recorded unemployed persons in the United States, with the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) at 6.8 million. And there are strong indications that many of those jobs are not coming back. The safety net, which assumes that individuals will find new jobs, was based on different economic assumptions and has done all that it can. Now millions of families desperately depend on the kindness of strangers – their elected officials in Washington. It is unreasonable to expect our government to extend unemployment benefits indefinitely. But how are we as a nation going to handle what might be millions of other Americans who soon may become “99ers,” and who may never find work again?

Comments

[Mike]

Why on earth does this blog, if not the Catholic Church, continue to support ideas that will ensure Ms Jarrin stays unemployed in perpetuity? Taking more from the ever dwindling population that has an income will only serve to create more people requiring assistance. If we free human beings to create enterprise on their own behalf, we encourage growth and employment. Ask church pastors if things were better when the economy was growing or contracting.

You can seek utopia all you want, but people have a desire to succeed and the cliche, a rising tide lifts all boats is worthy of consideration.

[ffxiv gil]

In Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" AES famous people declared, "I have been depending on the goodwill of strangers." Her route to consider this weeks ago, when I read the New York Times headlines. "99 weeks later, the unemployment rate is only despair." Article reported "unemployment of Americans, its members have taken themselves '99ers', because they have exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits, they can claim."Thank you for telling me the truth,i like it.

[Neto]

More to the point of the way the Gubmint numbers inditace that the national unemployment rate fell slightly in November from :*The surprise drop in the jobless rate was due in large part to the statistical impact of a sharp contraction in the government's count of the size of the overall workforce. To be counted in the labor force, you have to be actively looking for a job during the week a separate household survey is conducted.The labor force shrank by 315,000 people last month. That had the effect of lowering the ratio of the number of jobless workers when compared to the overall size of the workforce.People leave the labor force, as defined by the government survey, when they retire, go back to school or get discouraged and stop looking for a job.(Emphasis mine)But then you already knew that, right? By even the most optimistic possible estimate (unless you're a Gubmint econoloon cheer-boy or an Obamoron of some sort pardon the redundancy), the needle on the ol' funemployment meter either didn't move at all or sank a wee bit deeper into the double-digit mode. * Yeah, it's grungy ol' MSNBC, but they actually let a little mostly-unvarnished truth peek out this time even if they did precede it with the usual Things Are Looking Up pony-under-the-shitheap lede.

[Hector]

As a lifelong DC metro area reindest, I can tell you that the Federal government workers there, on average, are very very spoiled and do. nothing. for society.Nationwide, Fed workers average salaries are $70k/year (more than $100k/year if you include benefits -and my oh my, they have the best there too). Average non-Federal worker salary? About $35k/year.They are greedy at the Federal trough for sure but it's the system that is broken and well beyond repair. The irony is that they are mostly a bunch of one-world-government, globalist types, who are killing themselves through their agenda to incorporate the planet.The only jobs (in bulk) being opened today are for the military and for any agency which can be used to control the populace (DHS, FBI, FEMA, etc.).They know what's coming . official (deceptive) unemployment is 10.2%. That's what's know as the U-3. Useful only for comparison purposes to other U-3 numbers. The REAL unemployment rate is the U-6, currently the gov't (are we getting it? not your friends!) has the U-6 at 17-18%, BUT, even this they fudge. They use an unrealistic component to it (death rate I believe) to make it softer than it really is.Bob Chapman of TheInternationalForecaster.com has current U-6 as of this past Friday (11/06/09) as 22.4%.Folks, that's a GREATEST depression number.This all by design by the globalists and their international banksters. Watch for pandemics of the strange kind (look at Ukraine now something bad happening there, and it ain't the flu.)Pandemics, martial law, it's all coming BY DESIGN. Have you read Atlas Shrugged? That novel is the globalist's esoteric message (meaning a message for them, the elected NOT for you and me) to their fellow travelers as to HOW America will be destroyed. All by design. All on purpose.If it feels depressing and overwhelming, that's because it is without the armor of Lord God in Heaven. The globalists have their god lucifer that's why they they are winning the battle so far.We are not fighting flesh and blood .we need to put on the armor of God to be saved from the evil coming, the evil that is HERE .Please don't dismiss this warning .your eternal soul is at stake.

[Wonder]

First, nice map with some interesting data.But on the cmtneoms from Phelps, Texas (low regulation, no income tax) a natural function of economics. Which map are you staring at? In the counties of Texas where there are more cows than people the state is not bleeding but unless your color blind the areas where Texas has its population centers is bleeding just like every other densely populated area.And you may want to on your professor who taught you that low regulation, no income tax equates to low unemployment as a natural function of economics . Sadly this sounds more like the brain dead Reagonomics rather than any real world study of economics.Here is a clue from that bleeding map, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming all have no income taxes and in most cases are not highly regulated like some areas such as California or New York. You may notice that all of these states are bleeding readily from all their densely populated areas.In fact, the only areas not bleeding like a stuck pig are those with sparse populations. There is no relation what so ever to tax rates or regulation.It amazes me how blinded people are today by their bizarre uneducated politics. The facts are bludgeoning these people over the head and yet they still can't see the truth staring back at them.

[Arturo]

Unemployment is not all Obama's fault. This has been a progressive thing. It kind of got strtead with George W. Bush and snowballed after Obama took office. The biggest issue I have with Obama and unemployment is the fact that he promised if the first stimulus package was passed unemployment wouldn't go above 8% and now we're over 10%. I have a whole lot of other problems with what he has done and not done.People are mistaken if they think he doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing. Everything he does is very precise and calculated. He has ambitious thoughts of being King. He's intentionally crashing the dollar, forcing dependence on government programs and reducing our security. He's trying for that one emergency to order martial law and go from there. Mark my words.

[faience de longchamp]

Spot on with this write-up, I actually think this website needs far more attention. I'll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the info!