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And on the flip side, I do own one of those fast food restaurants and have yet to see a single long-term unemployed person apply. And easily half of the applicants are not interested in actually applying. They just need the app to show for UI or welfare.
Additionally, half my 21-24 yo staff live with their mom. 1/4 don't have cars (in a suburb with no public transport). To them it's far better to spend their money on Hennessey and tattoos than on cars and rent. Why not when there are other people willing to bail them out.
The window washing and paper hanging is, indeed, a very creative solution, and very inspiring!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PJSinger
I've been desperate for work and a place to stay on a couple of occasions. Fortunately, my sister and her husband let me crash at their house until I could get on back on my feet. The first time I had difficulty finding any kind of work at all, I took a bucket, soap, a squeegee and a rag and walked downtown, offering to wash businesses' front windows for five bucks. Twenty windows was an easy 100 bucks. I did that for about 4 months, until I found a real job. It was enough to pay my bills, though I didn't have a house and a mortgage at the time.
The next time I was out of work for an extended period and desperate for anything, I put a free ad in the neighborhood newspaper at a ritzy, gated subdivision. The ad said, "Experienced paperhanger needs work. Call [phone #]." (I had learned how to hang wallpaper at my first job out of college which was for a large paint and wallcoverings company.) I was amazed at the response I received! For several months, I spent at least 30 hours a week hanging wallcoverings in rich people's houses. After the first few people hired me and loved my work, I got all the other work through word of mouth. I even had to hire someone to assist me on the really big jobs. I had no desire to actually own a business, so I kept searching for another job. Even after I landed a regular, full-time job several months later, I continued to hang paper on weekends and sometimes holidays. I did this for several years. I had a waiting list of customers a mile long. All from that one, free ad and my willingness to bust my hump to earn a living.
What's really surprising is that all those people hired me - a stranger - to enter their homes and hang paper. I was not bonded, so it was a risk for them and for me. I would not hire a stranger not bonded and affiliated with a business to work in my home, but there are people out there who will. It got me through a very rough time and I'm so glad I placed that free ad!
Almost everyone has some skill that they can use to earn some money, somehow. It may not be a lot, but it could be the difference between starving and thriving or being homeless and having your own place to stay. I encourage anyone without work and in a desperate financial situation to think hard about something they can do which is marketable. Heck, you could always nail some boards together, paint ducks on them, and sell them at craft fairs!
If you have been unemployed that long, you're doing something wrong. (My Poem, trademarked)
Often, I see the issue being pride. And I speak from experience, because in my early 20's I would go for long stints without a job. The problem: I was just too proud to work certain jobs. That was a mistake - and when I learned that some work is better than no work, it fell into place. Then I had to learn that you must bust your tail constantly if you plan to survive.
Even if you need to take a truck driving job that takes you away from family...even if you have to scrub toilets in some high rise...even if you have to mop up spit at some gas station off the highway...and yes, even if you have to flip burgers...when you need a job, take A JOB. Don't wait for the one you want if it isn't easy to come by.
Military is tricky, because once you reach 30 they don't really want you anymore.
I get disgusted when I see places like McD's, BK, Subway, Jack, Lowe's, Kohls, Home Depot,etc that is ALWAYS hiring. Yet I see people swear there are no jobs.
I think the number of people in this dire predicament is VASTLY overstated.
NC cut back on unemployment and voila...the numbers of unemployed went down. Did they all magically move out of state real quick?
Apparently you don't realize (along with many of the politicians) that just because the unemployment numbers go down, doesn't mean there are fewer unemployed people. When benefits are cut, people are no longer counted...whether they've found work or not. The long term unemployed or those that have given up aren't counted either, as well as those who may have found part-time work, which doesn't replace full time work if one stops to think for a second. One can pull out anecdotal evidence of job availability in some areas but that's not the case in most areas apparently since a vast majority of Americans would most likely prefer some kind of work over bankruptcy or homelessness. Lastly with a labor market participation rate of around 62% for job market eligible Americans (excludes individuals over 65, those under 21 and the handicapped/disabled) how in the world do you suppose there is a 6.7% unemployment rate being bandied about? Do the math people!
Oh you pulled that homeless card with the wrong person now.
Just last weekend on our community radio hour, the Mayor of the City of Sebastian was discussing the homeless. He was ADVERTISING how may resources were available and the assistance ready and waiting for the people. There is a grand total of like, 32 homeless teens (our MSA is 150,000) and they are in a residence or FOSTER and our community just had a huge fund raising event that will even pay for their higher education if they don't find homes.
He stated that the biggest challenge is they mostly won't seek or REFUSE the help. One old guy was living on the town square for years with a giant growth on his shoulder and it took YEARS for him to accept the free MONEY, APARTMENT, PHONE and finally go sign up for the BENEFITS available. The MAYOR himself finally got him to "go in". WHY? He didn't like the "attitudes" of all the do-gooders who tried before.
He also stated that there are some TENT CITY people living quietly in the woods who actually WORK but for some weird reason are not ready to give it up. HE GOES THERE. It's part of his gig and lifetime avocation. The radio host kept asking WHY are there homeless and what can we do? The Mayor kept tap dancing around it and finally said "it's hard. They have pride." WTH.
Everyone knows the homeless problem has more to do with mental illness. OR calling someone "HOMELESS" in the SURVEY just because they don't have an official rental/owned residence and are living with someone else. OR the niche problem with veterans.
Thanks to LIBERALS who during JKF, decided deinstitutionalization was the way to go and that the FEDS would fund community based housing (which they NEVER DID - SURPRISE) and magic thinking that schizophrenics would just happily take their pills. Of course then they passed laws stating it's everyone's right to not get treatment and live on the streets if they want. Nice solution. THEN blame "the rich".
While there will always be economically disadvantaged people, that doesn't mean there are NO SOLUTIONS for them even if temporary while they get their act together. The American way is to work and be a contributor to society with a safety net. NOT cradle to grave government payments. That would be Europe, not the USA.
All over the world, and in the history of this country too, people LIVE TOGETHER during tough times. ONLY in America do people insist they should get individual apartments, iphones, designer knock off bags, televisions, cars, free landlines, free healthcare, food stamps, etc and call themselves POOR. Try an actual third world country if ya wanna be "poor".
Last edited by runswithscissors; 02-13-2014 at 06:55 AM..
Still, you can train people until you're blue in the face, but if there are no jobs, educating them for jobs that don't exist isn't helpful. There are few jobs in east TN where a traditional education is required or even beneficial. When there are few jobs where an education is useful, people view education with suspicion. It's kind of a chicken and egg thing - companies don't want to go where the workers are untrained/uneducated, but if there are no jobs, people look at education and say "why bother."
It is USELESS to complain about there not being enough jobs. You are one person. You only need one job. Is there at least one job open somewhere? Then you are fine. Let the other millions of people worry about themselves. Bogging your mind down with such thoughts is a waste of time.
And on the flip side, I do own one of those fast food restaurants and have yet to see a single long-term unemployed person apply. And easily half of the applicants are not interested in actually applying. They just need the app to show for UI or welfare.
Additionally, half my 21-24 yo staff live with their mom. 1/4 don't have cars (in a suburb with no public transport). To them it's far better to spend their money on Hennessey and tattoos than on cars and rent. Why not when there are other people willing to bail them out.
The Tennessee governor has proposed a program to allow graduating seniors to attend a CC effectively free. While this is helpful, incoming college freshmen have access to the full slate of grants, scholarships, and loans for funding college. It doesn't apply to other Tennesseans.
This doesn't help the long term unemployed in Tennessee. The people who could really benefit are the tens of thousands of unemployed or underemployed Tennesseans who have only a high school education or older workers whose former careers no longer exist and need to retrain. I'd like to see the governor expand this program to include all Tennesseans. The intent is good and the program is helpful, but it's not all the way there yet.
Still, you can train people until you're blue in the face, but if there are no jobs, educating them for jobs that don't exist isn't helpful. There are few jobs in east TN where a traditional education is required or even beneficial. When there are few jobs where an education is useful, people view education with suspicion. It's kind of a chicken and egg thing - companies don't want to go where the workers are untrained/uneducated, but if there are no jobs, people look at education and say "why bother."
The programs I've seen are free for everyone. I've seen IT, web design, auto mechanic, child care, etc. The problem is will anyone hire someone in their 50s who just received a certificate in web design or web security who has no experience in that field? They can probably get recent college grads that they can mold. Still, it's better to try than just do nothing.
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Very Commendable!
