For the unemployed, is 99 weeks enough time to "re-train" and "reorganize?"

[apples and oranges]

A caller on Washington Journal today said she disagrees with the compromise because the wealthy don't need more tax cuts, and that 2 years is plenty of time for the unemployed to re-train and reorganize.

I think 3 years should be the max because it takes at least a year to figure out that you're not going to be unemployed in your current field anymore. From that point, a new career path might take another 2 years to train for. But, if after taking steps to do a new career one is still unemployed, that person should still be entitled to continue getting funds.

[xchrom]

1. lol -- there has to be an actual job available in order to get one.

and what do you retrain and reorganize for in a bad economy? -- to be a maid?

[potpolpilot]

13. We need a NATIONAL RETRAINING CENTER in the U.S.

somewhere in the desert...tens of thousands of Wal Mart shopping carts and tens of thousands of McDonald's deep fryers..we are deeply fried!

[Skidmore]

2. When you need a 4 year college degree to be a telemarketer

or a customer services rep??? Hell, you need a 2 year degree to work at MickeyDs these days.

[apples and oranges]

8. no need to exaggerate, there are plenty of fields (especially medical)

that involve 2 years or less of education, including becoming a nurse. That's also enough time to attain a masters degree in some cases (for those who already have bachelors degrees). But keep in mind, a person may have to move to another state or city as part of their reorganization attempts.

[hobbit709]

10. And what money pays for that move?

[apples and oranges]

12. Unfortunately only people who have friends or family that are willing to help

or allow them to move in may benefit from that route. I'm not sure what else to suggest. Indefinite unemployment doesn't seem practical.

[hobbit709]

3. Retrain for what job "Do you want fries with that?"

When I got laid off in 2001 I was told I was eligible for retraining. I had some hoops to dance through to qualify. So I did and then I was told "Sorry, but we used up our retraining budget for the fiscal year. You'll have to wait 4 months for the next budget year" At that point I had 3 weeks unemployment left.
Thank you very much Texas Workforce Commission and may I have another.

[Donnachaidh]

4. most of the folks on long-term ui don't have the FUNDS to re-train

Everything offered to my DH for *training* would have cost us thousands, with NO guarantee for a job at the end of it. And most of the programs were through for-profit diploma mills - the same ones that advertise all over the place for para-legals and criminal justice degrees.

To ask someone with a family to support who is barely surviving now to take out thousands in loans *on faith* that the economy will get better and they will find a job in the few fields out there is psychotic. The only people making money off this psychotic treadmill are the for-profit colleges.

For christ's sake -- people paid into unemployment. Give them the damned benefits! Then make those a-holes in Washington come up with a jobs program. THEY screwed up the system with their de-regulation and tax breaks for companies to offshore jobs.

Don't stomp the folks who need the help into the ground, or argue over timeframes for re-training. Unless you've suffered through longterm unemployment - you have no clue what they are dealing with.

[kenny blankenship]

5. 99 MONTHS? You mean weeks

[LiberalEsto]

6. First you need money to afford retraining nt

[KharmaTrain]

7. Is A Job A Right??

Right now kinda hard to find jobs in an economy that has constricted. We bled industrial jobs in the 80s and 90s and the informational and service ones in the past decade...and none have come back or appear to be in the future. So there's a smaller job pool with more and more people trying to squeeze in. I've seen too many industries that have downsized to a shell of their former selves while the corporates exploit multi-national markets that are a reason they're seeing record profits. The little guy is left to fend for himself.

Unless we have some major economic turn-around where outsourced jobs return or new industries are created there we are going to see a large number of unemployed or unemployable. It's a "buyers market" as companies can choose cheaper over more experienced and make their employees work harder with the threat of being on the outs.

So where is the government's responsibility here? Do we keep unemployed people getting benefits while the unemployment figures remain about 8% (arbitrary number), let them slide off and go onto food stamps and other social programs (which are sure to be a target as the budgets and demands grow) or create a jobs program...make work in some cases, infrastructure in others to put people to work and filter tax dollars back into the economy?

The clock continues to tick here...with or without additional benefits, the 2 million who are at the ends of their economic ropes aren't going away and each month there will be hundreds of thousands more joining them.

[TBF]

18. Good question. Yes, from my pov a job should be a right in a civilized country -

everyone who wants to work should have that opportunity. Will they be able to pick which job they want (if so I will take CEO of an investment bank) ... probably not, but yes I do believe the government should step in here and get people back to work.

You might as well ask "is life a right?". Because you're going to see people starving (or close to it) on the streets the way this is going. Should shelter be a right? How about food? My argument would be yes, basic job, food, shelter should be the bottom line in a civilized society. When we lack that you will see folks turning to the underground economies, stealing, whatever they have to do to stay alive and feed their families.

[KharmaTrain]

21. We Faced These Questions In The 30s...

If the answer is "yes"...then who is responsible to ensure that right? Should the government force private business as to whom to hire or create the jobs themselves? I ask these questions since I think they're fundamental to how people view government and what to expect from it.

For all intents, housing is a right as how distateful as it sounds, one can either live in subsudized housing or in some kind of shelter. The fact these are the choices is obscene...but, again, what options are there? The same goes for food stamps. Unfortunately I know many families that have gone that route...proud people who are underwater and with few opportunities to get ahead. It's a shame that we have people who go to bed hungry every night...in addition to the millions teetering on the edge who watch every penny like its their last. So these are rights and ones that didn't exist during the last depression. But they're also under attack and as the economy continues to constrict the pressure will be to cut rather than expand.

To a degree our social safety nets no matter how flawed have keep people from taking to the streets. Growling stomaches make for angry residents. Unfortunately so many are so beaten down and just deal with their immediate day to day to really question why this has happened and are powerless to do anything about it.

Cheers...

[TBF]

30. Yes, I prefer government to do it - but I am anti-capitalist so that will

always be my answer. Nothing is perfect, but I'm not comfortable with a system in which billionaires piss away their money on yachts and private planes while other citizens are literally living in tents. It's just not right.

[pitohui]

36. as long as we don't have a dole a job should be a right

people have to have some legal way to get money, in usa we don't have a dole, there is no welfare unless you have a dependent child in the home (one reason why so many single/divorced male vets end up on the streets, they qualify for NOTHING)

since there is not enough useful work for all adults, in my view, we should simply have a dole so that everyone can have a way to live and eat w/out begging, ripping off family members, etc.

however, we have a cruel evil society w here it is required that you have to get money some kind of way, by preying on others, if you don't have a job

therefore even if it's make work, we need to have jobs for everyone

either a dole for everyone or a job for everyone, i don't much care which but we need to get income into EVERYONE's hands

[TBF]

38. Agreed -

the republicans (and also many democrats) have it backwards. They believe that some see welfare as a lifestyle choice (just as they view being gay as a lifestyle choice - these folks aren't very bright)... Who in their right mind would willingly choose the derision that accompanies it? Welfare and food stamps are a last resort, as is unemployment ($300 a week in a major city - try to get by on that ...).

As you point out, if folks can't find jobs (and these days even fast food positions are hard to come by), then they are going to starve or turn to illicit ways to make money. I know I would. If faced with the choice of my children starving, I would do what I had to - even if it's considered illegal. Many would even if they won't admit it - what else are you going to do.

[KharmaTrain]

42. That Was The New Deal Approach

And I ask the question as there are several levels here to deal with. I see the government as a catalyst of change rather than an employer. State-owned businesses can become very corrupt and inefective and thus I see the combination of small business loans and grants along with legislation that promotes investment in alternative energy and infrastructure building as a big step in creating the momentum that could result in real new jobs. I also don't find anything wrong with subsidies for other industries that would encourage them to hire. The bottom line is to get money into people's hands so they spend it and that generates more jobs and tax revenues.

Our society has gone from one that made things to one that consumes. Those that vanish off the unemployment rolls don't disappear and they will require other government services. But this still isn't enough. And with a dole, how do you determine what's a proper wage? It's a tricky maze here between the possible and a hard place. Sadly there are more advocates for the haves in this country than the have nots and if you dare to make an issue of it, you're accused of inciting class warfare.

[Doremus]

9. Unrec'd for transparency. nt

[Serial Mom]

11. Retrain to be "rented"?

Big corps have done nothing but use contractors for past 3 years... so even if you "train" for another job, corporations 'rent' people - no benefits (vacation, PTO, healthcare, 401, etc.), sign them up for 3, 6 or even 12 months, but let them go after they have accomplished what was needed (even if it was half the length of the "contract") and let them sit again for months. Then you might have to retrain again!

Plus having talked off record with a contract recruiter, corps, thru recruiters, offer American workers ridiculously low wages, then tell the government they can't find American workers to take the contract so they are allowed to bring in more H-1 workers at the lower wages. So even finding a decent paying contract job can be difficult.

[eShirl]

14. Is 10 years long enough for the rich to create enough jobs for us with their tax cuts?

[LynneSin]

15. In a normal economy I would say yes...

but this is not a normal economy and good jobs are hard to find.

[tridim]

16. I need to un-train.

I'm overqualified for most typical jobs now. It's a big problem.

Any ideas how to do that short of lying on my resume?

[Skidmore]

17. Recommend.

[Le Taz Hot]

22. +1

They told us to get an education. We got an education. They told us to get experience. We got experience. Now we're "over" educated (whatever the fuck that means), too old and salary history is too high. I've "dumbed" down my resume so much it can't be dumbed down any more without making myself illiterate.

[GoCubsGo]

25. Ditto.

I'm lucky I was able to get any of the temp work I got. I have even applied for part-time package handler at UPS. No way I'll ever hear back from them.

I spent four years in college, and three hellish years in grad school to be able to do the job I wanted to do. And, I'm supposed to "retrain"??? Fuck that shit. I want my old job back.

[tridim]

28. I'm planning on doing temp work through an agency.

Seems like the best possibility of landing a permanent job when these companies see that I'm a hard worker, regardless of the job title.

My degree is in Architecture, but I've been talking to my former school mates and apparently the industry is laying off people like crazy right now. IT/web dev is even more dead than architecture. I'll probably end up doing filing or something, like Craig Schwartz in "Being John Malkovich". :)

[GoCubsGo]

32. I'm an environmental biologist.

Temp and other employment agencies take one look at resumes like mine and say, "Sorry, we can't help you. We don't deal with people with your skills set." I'll never forget the blank look on the faces of the people at the unemployment office when they looked at my resume. They were totally befuddled over it.

[Sirveri]

26. Just lie and hope they don't check previous employment.

The worst they can do for lying on a resume is fire you in most scenarios. So screw it, you've been running a cash register at the hardware store for years before it finally shuttered, and now you need that minimum wage job at walmart.

[tinkerbell41]

19. I can't figure out what we're retraining for.

As someone who has only performed physical labor, I wouldn't know where to start.

[Le Taz Hot]

20. Retrain to WHAT????

Repeat after me, caller: There. are. no. jobs.

Just a reminder that we were all told in the 80's and 90's to "retrain towards computers." We did that and the H1B visas came along, not to mention outsourcing.

[pintobean]

23. The job that has 1000 people lined up for.

[Le Taz Hot]

29. AND they're selling them to the lowest bidder.

Jobs 5 years ago that were paying $75,000 a year and up are now being offered for $30,000 a year and no benefits. And you're right. People are lined up. Our unemployment rate is 15.9% here. There were 20 positions that recently opened up at a call center and 5,000 people showed up THE FIRST DAY. It was a 3-day job fair. People literally camped out the night before to get a good place in line. It's what makes me so crazy when I hear Republicans and Right Wing Radio talk show hosts claim that people are are claiming they need extended unemployment benefits because it's easy money. Really?????

[pintobean]

33. And, I'll bet

a lot of union workers are working below scale.

[FloriTexan]

24. Retrain for what kind of job???

My husband, soon to be a 99er, spent the last two years of his working career training up to another position at the firm only to be laid off. Yea, lets go spend money we don't have going back to school to study some field or career that will probably also not pan out.

[ipaint]

27. No, not if you are in your mid 50's, don't own a home and have no money.

That means not a cent to your name. Retraining is a scam created to sell Nafta and is always used to cover up upper class crimes. When you are 54 and your only wealth consists of a monthly food stamp allotment it's ridiculous.

The top 1% ran amok for decades and now the bottom 50% of the country gets to pay for those crimes with their livelihood and in some cases their lives.

[jtuck004]

31. All this is academic - we will not see a 5-6% unemployment rate for two decades.

All this talk about time limits is just a waste - We need to be talking about a jobs program and training for the next century.

From the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, November 9, 2010 USDL-10-1545

Technical information: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact: [phone] • [e-mail]

Job Openings and Labor Turnover – September 2010

There were 2.9 million job openings on the last business day of
September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

So according to Census data\BLS Statistics we had 2.9 million job openings

There are nearly 30 million people, if you use the governments conservative figures, in these categories

1 - unemployed
2 - underemployed - they work part-time, not by choice, because their job has cut hours. They
often cannot pay their bills on the reduced wages, maybe under federal poverty levels.
3 - people who are so disheartened by rejection that they have not looked in the past 4 weeks,
although they have looked in the last year and are considered in the work force.

That is potentially 10 people for EVERY open jobs. It does not count people who are takings jobs when
owners are moving them outside the country, which may raise this to 30 people for every open job.

It gets getter. To bring our unemployment back to 5-6% we need to employ roughly 20 million of those 30 million people.
About 125,000 new people enter the work force every month, so we need more than 125,000 jobs created each month to cut
into the unemployed.

If we create 250,000 private sector jobs EVERY month starting today, it will take us 13 years and 4 months to reach a 5-6% unemployment rate.

We have NEVER done that in the history of the United States. Ever. The more likely BEST case scenario is 20 years.

Unless one is a complete moron, or Ben Bernanke, they will realize that a large and significant portion of the taxes that
pay for police, firefighters, teachers, schools, bridges, etc - virtually any public or state employee, is gone and may
not be back in your lifetime. It's also millions and millions of people who will leave their job and never work again until
they get their Social Security, and millions of students who will leave college to find there are no jobs for 10 years or more.

Happy Holidays everyone!

[eilen]

37. They just cut my job by 5 shifts

then added two weekend shifts. Most of us work 3 shifts/week so they effectively cut a position. They offered me some training on Dec 21 so that I can get more hours but doing different harder work (same pay) but I planned to see my husband who had to leave the state last summer to find work. I'm seeing my husband but it means I will have to wait a month in training. I don't mind so much because I'd rather see my husband than to sit in a stupid class covering a subject in which I've been proficient in for 10 years.

I'm looking at it as an opportunity to use those skills again and will volunteer for more certs so when we ever sell our house, I can be more marketable (yucch, I hate that term-- makes me sound like a product, not a person).

It fits in my goals. One of my goals is to be able to get my son through college without debt. I want to send him in the world without being enslaved by debt at the start. Maybe he will be smart and leave the country.

[pitohui]

34. retrain for WHAT?

re training seems to be code for getting in more student loan debt, a process which doesn't ever lead to getting another decent job among the people i know

why get in debt if you are going to have to settle for the 25K a year job anyway once you're over 40? if you can't pay your bills and have a home on $25K and with today's prices you can't, then you sure can't pay those bills, have a home, AND finance more student loan/education debt

education debt is the only debt you can't shed thru bankruptcy and if you get to social security age they'll take it out of your soc. security check, meaning you will be in poverty FOR LIFE

retraining is a VERY risky boat to catch which doesn't pay off for older people

if you can't get a job in the field where you have lots of past education and experience it's silly to think that the age discrimination will allow you to get a job in some new field where you are just an older face in the crowd w.out the necessary experience

retraining just doesn't work

[One_Life_To_Give]

35. Don't forget Relocation

There are area's of the country which won't recover for decades. For many the simplest solution to finding work will be a change of location. I hear Shanghai is hiring.

[Stinky The Clown]

39. Retraining ..... what a joke. Retraining for what? The jobs are gone.

No jobs, people. There are simply no jobs. They're not coming back, either.

[TBF]

40. Re-train, re-locate, re-organize - how do you do all this with no money coming in?

Seriously this is idiotic. Only someone who has no clue what it's like living paycheck to paycheck would make such a stupid comment.

[xchrom]

41. In a bad economy - how does one figure out what to retrain for?

I mean there are lots of people looking for any one job still.