A Day in the Life of the Long Term Unemployed

I was scavenging around trying to rustle up some thing to eat this morning, when I thought to myself “Do these politicians arguing in Washington over the Debt/Deficit/Taxes actually understand what people are going through? After checking the fridge I reluctantly decided on 2 Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches only to find after spreading peanut butter on 2 slices of bread we were out of Jelly. Damm I thought, I wonder if any of those stuffed suits have ever had to make decisions like these.

Up until 7 ½ months ago I was considered “Upper Middle Class” earning slightly over $150K annually. Not the product of a 4 year University but rather a “Self-Funded” education through serving in the US Army (volunteer) during Vietnam so I could take advantage of the GI Bill education benefit. I came from a family of 10 and by the time I became of college age any and all surplus funds to send a kid through college were “Long Gone”. So I took one for the team, volunteered for the US Army and served in Southeast Asia servicing missiles to fund my college education.

A 2 year degree in Electronics, 2 Certification programs in Network Engineering and Process Controls later, I fit into the class of returning education professionals who continually improve their skills with ongoing education, certification, and many many licenses and security clearances.

I finally decided on Romian Noodles with frozen vegetables and an egg stirred in. I carefully measured out the additional Chicken Broth seasoning to give it flavor. Thank God for the little chest freezer stored in the garage which I stock up during the good times, I thought to myself.

I live frugally avoiding luxuries such as a Harley, Hummer, exorbitant House payment or trendy vacations to exotic locations. Instead rather I make a generous contribution to my 401K, overpay my Home loan every month and drive a 1993 Ford Escort which I had to rebuild the Cylinder Head on. I little tinkering with Port Polishing increased the MPG by 15% and I’ll happily take the increased savings over a $600 a month truck payment any day.

Anyway back to the unemployment – I can not count the number of resumes I have sent out nor can I tell you the frustration I have experienced watching the amounts of compensation offered gradually going lower and lower and even lower. I remember all too well in 1981 when Reagan took office the rampant Unemployment that ensued as a direct result of his economic policy using Unemployment to curb Inflation. I also remember the “Back to Work Wage Cut” many many Working Americans conceded to in order to regain full time employment. Then again in 1992, the McJobs wage cuts of 2002, and now the Wage Cuts have come back with a vengeance in 2011.


Well I am happy to report after several months of negotiations a serious Job offer has been placed on the table, signed and accepted. It only constitutes a 35% Cut in wages when the cost of Health Insurance is factored in. I know it seems awful but it is a lot better then unemployment and with Corporate America sitting of $ Trillions, they have all the leverage right now. Besides – short of major changes in US Energy policy I could stay at this job with their 3.3% cap on annual wage increases for another 14 years until I reach retirement age. Well that is unless the Huge Corporation doesn’t decide to close this aging facility and lay off the work force there. I’ll know for sure within 2 years if I see them making the necessary upgrades to operate the facility efficiently and economically.

Worse then that is looking to the future of my 3 sons. 2 are out of the house already, 1 gainfully employed at a job I feel beneath him making very low wages for a person expecting his first child. The other after being laid off is getting by hustling car parts out of junk yards and reselling them on Craig’s List. He hasn’t asked to move back home yet, but me and the wife have started cleaning out the spare bedroom already. A real shame a “Straight A Student” tested at Mensa Level Intelligence and halfway through a Degree in Mechanical Engineering would have to resort to that. Such is America in the land of drastic budget cuts and astronomical Wall St Profits. Reinvestment in our youth and education is merely a catch phrase designed to dupe “Low Information Voters”

Only 1 slight problem. The debilitating psychological depression I have been suffering as a result of my long term unemployment still hasn’t lifted. Again I’m quite sure our elected officials don’t even have the slightest clue of what I am talking about. Still others would accuse me of lying or attempting to milk the system. And with the prospects of what these Budget/Deficit Negotiations are going to do to America it isn’t likely to lift any time soon

This is just starting to seem less and less like America to me. Certainly not the America I remember defending when those Russian Migs circled my position so close I still remember seeing the pilot’s face. Definitely not the America I remember my mother telling me about where the “Middle Class was the Backbone of America” But more like the America where my Great Grandfather at 14 yrs old was sold into the Sweat Shops of New York in 1848 after his parents were jailed in Galway Ireland and sent to the penal colony in Australia. Ya – it’s a lot like that America

Today we are treated like a stock option waiting to be capitalized upon and traded in a lopsided bond market. No I’m pretty sure Washington has completely forgot what it means to be “American” and never ever ever knew what it was like to be on the roles of the “Long Term Unemployed”