Unemployment is not welfare--you pay into the former while you're working (at least you do in CA, but I imagine it's similar elsewhere) so it isn't like they're feeding at the trough a la welfare recipients (more like they're getting back money that was already being withheld from their paychecks and, is you've been working for a number of years, there is simply no way you'll ever get back what you put in in the first place).

"Is it not too far away when fathers will be eligible for paid maternity leave?"

They are in Kalifornia. Have to use your vacation time, sick time. IIRC, it's two months leave. If you run out of time, you can petition to have fellow workers 'donate' some of their unused time to you. I recall one guy went on a month's fishing vacation while "bonding" with a new-born back home. Heck of a guy.

I think unemployment benefits are temporary and it seems none of these individuals has the desire to go on long term welfare. I interpreted this differently. They lost their jobs, are making the adjustment in cutting back on expenses which they realize were luxuries. They are finding there are a lot of simple/inexpensive/free things that are fulfilling their lives while they make this transition in looking for another job. I cannot determine from this article whether they are working hard enough to find a new job but if you do look around there's not much out there. I think most small and moderate size businesses are not hiring, and I think business is holding its breath waiting to see how much they're gonna be screwed by the government.

If a two income family loses one income and chooses to get by on the other income then more power to them. It just means one less person looking for work and a better chance for someone who absolutely must work to find a job. Same for older workers who have the means to retire and are finding they are enjoying the time off. Staying out of the workforce just means someone who really needs a job is more likely to find one.

The ultimate question is, had this been a republican president, would we be seeing such a fluff piece on unemployment/welfare?

Can you say "Not in a million years?" Of course you can.

I too didn't read the article the same way, just a couple instances of people making the best of it, having a fairly healthy attitude about the situation they are in. For those that collect unemployment you usually have to show every two weeks or so some evidence that you have been looking for work, at least you do in Georgia, though I imagine it's not hard to milk it if you wanted too, don't really exactly the requirements since the one time some years ago I could have applied I didn't bother because I didn't need the handout.

"Unemployment is not welfare--you pay into the former while you're working (at least you do in CA, but I imagine it's similar elsewhere) so it isn't like they're feeding at the trough a la welfare recipients (more like they're getting back money that was already being withheld from their paychecks and, i[f] you've been working for a number of years, there is simply no way you'll ever get back what you put in in the first place)."

Sounds like you're confusing Social Security taxes with unemployment taxes. Your employer pays unemployment taxes on your wages; State AND Federal. Not you.

Sounds like you're confusing Social Security taxes with unemployment taxes. Your employer pays unemployment taxes on your wages; State AND Federal. Not you.

That's true, but your employer also pays half your Social Security and Medicare taxes on your behalf, and many employers pay most of an employee's medical insurance. None of it is taxpayers money and using unemployment is no more a handout than using your medical insurance.

Not only is unemployment paid in while a person is working, but in most sates, the employer is charged the full amount for the benefits laid off workers use. It's just another cost of business like paying property taxes. If anything, it's the state that's double dipping.

Shawn

This has to be a new low for Wizbang; begrudging those who have been laid off yet make the most of it. On the one hand you say, you dont begrudge them, yet in your next sentence, you do exactly that, you begrudge them.

I know plenty of people who have been laid off; they have had to tighten their belts, fire the nanny, forego the ski trip etc. But they have saved wisely and have contributed to the public coffers. Why shouldn't they be allowed to claim what is rightfully due to them?

If I remember correctly, in one of your first pieces for Wizbang, you informed us that you worked in retail. Somehow I get the distinct feeling that you are more "shop floor" than 'office based"

Are you jealous because you would probably have to tke the first job that came your way? You, sir, are a first class Prig.........

Like any safety net, unemployment will break if stretched to far. It is a simple economic reality. If everyone who was laid off didn't start looking for work until their benefits ran out the system would be bankrupt in months. That kind of trouble is something we can all do without, and it is something to avoid, not promote.

James Cloniger is right, under a Republican president this article would not have such a glowing "hope and change" aura. Journalism is dead.

Tyree

No matter which you look at Shawn's comments, they can only be contrued as coming as having come from a Prig, a similar sounding word ending ick springs to mind.

These are shocking times all the more so as both government and the financial sector are complicit for the mess that we find ourselves in. Obama is no more to blame than Bush, but rather years of sitting on the fence by politicians from both sides of the fence.

However Shawn's priggish comments have an almost Pharisee quality about them "God, I thank thee, as I am not like other men are" I hope that he never finds himself without a job and has to suffer the ignominy of having to take from the public purse.

Now, I do begrudge anyone for gleaning positives from a dire situation

Fixed that for you.

jim,

What I don't like is the glorified attitude taken by both the participants and the writer of the article.

People need help in bad situations sometimes, however, trumpeting the benefits of being laid off seems pretty shallow.

Especially coming from a leftist, liberal spewpot like the Globe.

BTW, you are the one who said they are suffering "ignominy" in this situation, not me.

Shwn

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Shwn

Tht s pthtc. cnnt tk crtcsm, s dfc m pst. rfrrd t th pp tht lst thr jbs s bng "shllw" clld prg. s vr lttl dffrnc.

shld grw pr nd grw p. stnd b m rlr cmmnts, r dfntl "shp flr" s ppsd t ffc mtrl.

"That's true, but your employer also pays half your Social Security and Medicare taxes on your behalf, and many employers pay most of an employee's medical insurance. None of it is taxpayers money and using unemployment is no more a handout than using your medical insurance."

If you want to get technical, the difference is your employer is forced to pay unemployment and SS/MC taxes by the government. They are not forced to pay for insurance (yet). Neither are insurance companies forced to be in the insurance business. The insurance business is a willing collective.

The fact is unemployment and SS/MC taxes are a "tax". And it is paid for by others. It's figured into the price of the company's product.

We can argue the morality of it being called a "handout" all day long, but it is a forced tax.

Jim,

You are a bit over-reactive.

I don't know how to dis-em-vowel the comments.

But keep it up. I know the powers-that-be do not nave limited patience with trolls like you.

And Jim,

You are reeeeealy hurting my feelings with your petty inferences as per my job.

"You should grow a pair and grow up."

Shawn

Bothered, as we say where I come from. In other words I dont really care, either way. You are a nobody that I have wasted too much time on!