Re “When Unemployment Checks Dry up, Work Magically Appears”
I found your piece yesterday about unemployment really out of line.
I don't know how many people you know who are on unemployment. I know at least one. I can tell you that thanks to unemployment, he has been able to look for work.
I don't know what it is that sustains you or if you have ever faced unemployment.
When my friend lost his job – he was laid off due to budget cuts – he was nearing 60. Even though he had developed expertise and had many years experience in large-scale applications, it was hard for him, at his age, to find another placement.
His headhunters told him that both his age and the fact that companies had transitioned to other applications, made it hard to place him. He hired various headhunters, scoured the web, sent resumes incessantly.
In the end, the unemployment has run out. He will lose his home. It is ironic that he was laid off from a job at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and now, instead of counting homeless, as he did at one time, he will be one of them.
I don't know if you've ever faced the loss of a home you have paid for over decades, or if you can imagine what that feels like. I am hearing about it every day. It has made me understand the enormous challenge it is.
That is why, when i read your column suggesting that people on unemployment are just people wanting a vacation, I wanted to share this story so you can soften your position.
I don't believe it is a good idea to assume that you know people's motivations.
Maybe you know people who are on vacation on unemployment and don't have to deal with the effects of not having income, a sense of being productive, or even an identity (inasmuch as our work defines us).
I hope that you meet some people who can tell you the hardships. Put yourself in their shoes. Resist the temptation to judge, which I always think is a good idea.
Ms. Vizcarra, a recent candidate for the School Board, may be contacted at claudia.vizcarra@sbcglobal.net
