If You've Been Laid Off Or Worried About It

That's a steal. I was north of the city, and paid $1100 for a tiny 2 bd at the top of an old Victorian, with windows that fit so poorly my gas bill was $400/month in the winter. Two flights of stairs up to the front door, then two flights up to the apartment - no amenities at all. But it was in the MBTA area, so it was a quick 2 mile bus trip to the Orange Line, there were 3 commuter rail stops in the community, good schools - a really convenient location.

I'm guessing the recession must have lowered rents in the area quite a bit, or you got *really* lucky! LOL

 

I live on the South Shore which is cheaper, but public transport is not as good. During rush hour the bus only stops in front of my development every half hour and it is at LEAST a 20 minute ride to the end of the Red Line. If I had to take a bus to work(6 miles away), I could with a transfer, but ut would take me an hour and a half.

 

Happy to report my friend who lost her job found a great new gig.
She was desperate after losing her job since her lease was legally binding and wouldn't let her leave even after she had lost her job. So she luckily got a job working for a law firm for one day a week doing minor office stuff. One of the partners met with her and found out she use to be a nutritionist and hired her on the spot to help her with food choices. Things are definitely looking up. If you are looking for help with your food goals I suggest you check out her youtube channel and/or website growwithsimone.com

 

Great news

 

That's good to here. I really liked her positive attitude and views.

 

For jobless, more sleep and TV, but also more unpaid work

By Zachary Roth
Senior National Affairs Reporter
Tue, Aug 30, 2011

What do the unemployed do all day?

At a time of record-level long-term unemployment, the question matters -- and not just for the jobless themselves. For one thing, if the unemployed aren't seen as using their time productively, it's harder to maintain political support for jobless benefits, which some have argued lately are too costly. For another, we can't accurately assess the damage done to the economy by having so many people out of work unless we know what else they're doing.

One study last year found that much of the extra time gets spent sleeping and watching TV--leading to news reports that the jobless "frittered away" their time. Another analysis--this one released in January and co-written by Princeton economist Alan Krueger, who was announced Monday as the White House's pick to serve as the chief economic adviser to President Obama--pointed in the same direction. It found that people tend to devote fewer hours to job searches the longer they've been unemployed, and that sleep--especially "sleep in the morning hours"--increases as joblessness goes on. Together, the studies appeared to create a picture of the unemployed as lazy and unproductive.

But a sophisticated new analysis (pdf) complicates that picture. In a paper written for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Mark A. Aguiar, Erik Hurst, and Loukas Karabarbounis, using data from the American Time Use Survey, found that the jobless do spend about 30 percent of their extra time--the time they would otherwise have spent working--sleeping or watching TV, and another 20 percent on other leisure activities. But around 35 percent is spent doing unpaid but nonetheless important work, like child-care and housework. And other investments--things like education, health-care, and volunteer work --account for another 10 percent.

That jibes with what The Lookout found anecdotally when we asked readers who had been out of work for half a year or more to tell us about their experiences. Many described feelings of boredom, futility, and depression, leading to wasted hours in front of the TV or in bed. But plenty of readers told us about using the time more productively--whether by doing unpaid work, by bettering themselves, or by spending more time with their kids.

The notion advanced by some that jobless benefits are being used to support a life of leisure is, at best, simplistic.

But as Nancy Folbre, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, notes, there's a limit to how much useful unpaid work the jobless can do. "They lack the capital, land, tools and skills needed to flexibly shift from wage employment to production for their own use.," she writes. "Even when they can make a partial shift, their productivity is likely to be lower in unpaid work than paid work."

Folbre adds: "That's why involuntary unemployment represents such a waste of human capabilities and loss of productive output for the economy as a whole." That's true, it appears, however the jobless spend their time.

 

I read this bs article and wondered what was the point of this?
To demonize those out of work? Its like they're blaming them.

 

It seems like there's a sense that the "unpaid work" these folks are doing does not matter. Unpaid labor is what makes the world go around - spending time on household chores, gardening, kids...all the stuff we don't value enough to pay or pay well are the kind of things we cannot manage our lives without.

Perhaps the *only* real benefit to so many long term jobless is that they *are* getting to spend more time with their families and on "family business" unpaid work.

The sort of punitive tone too many politicians and the media have towards the poor and unemployed in this nation hurts my soul.

 

goes hand in hand with out of work people having a HARDER time finding another job.

this bs is trifling

ive (not me literally..i work) been unemployed because of this shitty economy, and im going to stay unemployed because no one likes stretches of inactivity on resumes

what the hell???

 

You gotta wonder damn am I actually crazy because this sounds like bs to me

 

it's a catch 22 and proof that certain areas of our economy need to be fixed

you're putting valuable people in an un-ending circle, from which they're going to have a harder time getting out of.

if you got family or friends to live with while you're unemployed, more power to you. this shit is vicious.

when you think about it tho, maybe this is what's needed. we've become such an individualistic society, focusing on independence and self, that many of us forgot what it meant to be part of a family (along with the value of one). One role of our families is to provide economic support for each other, and that's something that many people are going back to in this time of crisis.

 

I don't think you meant it that way, but this made me laugh until I had tears in my eyes.

I hope that doesn't come off as rude or anything. It's just the way it's phrased I guess.

 

I was unemployed for almost a year and half (Feb 2010 to June 2011). I temped. Unemployment would not have covered my expenses, and I needed health insurance and COBRA was way too expensive. I felt temping was my best option to find a full-time position and that proved to be true. I sent a number of resumes out for jobs I knew I could do with my hands tied behind my back but scored very few interviews. It was pretty disheartening, but understandable with so many people out of work. Temping also allowed me to keep my skills current and I met some great people.

If I had simply collected unemployment during that time, I think I would have become lazy and unmotivated and eventually I would've lost my confidence, so I'm glad I went the route I did.

 

u aint lyin

when I seen how much money they wanted to take my ass for with COBRA, i went right back to work like fug it.

affordable healthcare means a heck of a lot for people that are out of work. if they square that away without really sacrificing the quality of it, disability/unemployment will be more feasible. Until then, you're better off working until your heart gives out.

 

damn she is hot.

 

they call it cobra for a reason...

 

i wonder how many laid off people from middle-class/upper middle class jobs, would be willing to work in fast food or custodial services, until they landed back on their feet?

it's not as gainful, but it is work by all means...unless we want to encourage sitting around doing nothing

hmmm

and yes before anyone starts throwing bitch fits, i have sold sneakers, stocked grocery aisles, and flipped burgers before my current position

 

That she is. Too bad she don't like old and crusty otherwise i'd put in a good word for you buddy.

 

oh shit

 

no doubt

these dudes wanted like 600-700 just to continue my health insurance

pretty insane considering your out on disability or unemployed

where r u supposed to get that money from, lol