Clarke County Software Co

Website Links

Description

I once said that there is no dignity in taking help from the government. Admitting you need help requires a feeling of dignity at the beginning, just a little boost to keep you on your feet long enough to be able to walk on your own again. But when you are accepting that help for a long period, eventually your dignity starts to fade away and you wonder if you had any at the beginning. One question that many economists and conservatives keep asking is simply this: are unemployment insurance benefits keeping the unemployed unemployed? To some extent this is true, and that extent I believe to be insignificant. At the same time, asking this question has the effect of blaming those who are unemployed for being unemployed. True some were likely fired from their jobs, but I feel that most who are unemployed became so out of no fault of their own and just want to get their careers back on track as best as possible, and likely as soon as possible. The movie Dave ( Rent it on Netflix ) starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver had it right in a scene in which Dave, still acting as the President of the United States, gives a press conference talking about a new focus for the administration when it comes to jobs: If you’ve ever seen the look on somebody’s face the day they finally get a job, I’ve had some experience with this, they look like they could fly. And its not about the paycheck, it’s about respect, it’s about looking in the mirror and knowing that you’ve done something valuable with your day. Looking in the mirror and knowing you’ve done something valuable with your day. That is the dignity. To those politicians in Washington and the various State capitols who are asking this question, let me ask one in return. Actually let me address it to all elected and appointed officials, at the State and Federal level: have you ever suffered the lack of dignity that comes with being unemployed? Likely not. You’ve likely never had a worry in your world, never worried about whether you’re going to have to choose between paying the phone bill so you can still place and receive phone calls while searching for a job and buying groceries so you can eat. Or having to spend money you know you can’t afford to spend in a bid to impress another company in the hopes they’ll hire you, only to see that opportunity sink away like the others that you have come across and pursued. Further I ask that those of you who go to these rallies and town halls with politicians, the next time one of these politicians or political candidates starts talking about unemployment, ask them if they’ve ever been unemployed, and if they answer yes, ask them how long their longest unemployment stint was, and ask them to describe it in detail. Those of us who have previously been unemployed would be able to tell just by their description whether they’re full of it. On March 24, 2008, I was laid off from my position at the MediNotes Corporation 1 in West Des Moines, Iowa, two months and a week shy of three years of service. I was given two weeks severance and my accrued vacation benefits were cashed out, along with being paid for the extent of the pay period I had worked.

Products & services

Similar companies nearby