My Girls & Unemployment...

College kids today go through four years of school, accumulate massive debt and end up back on their parent's couch. Unemployment can be very discouraging. It's not just that they can't get into their field of study, but there aren't even other jobs to be had while they wait and look for their dream jobs.

My older daughter had a tough time of it when she graduated three and a half years ago. Not only was the job market in dire straights, but her majors in television and English weren’t getting her very far. The media is a very competitive industry where interns are desperately willing to work for nothing for school credit. Employers can afford to be choosy selecting employees and pay little. My daughter did find a “freelance” position with Time Warner. After several months they cut her hours due to budget cuts, and rather than sit home much of the time, she took a temporary job. This temporary job led to a full time job shortly after. It was at a plumbing company doing administrative work. They love her there, but because she is a quick study and very efficient, they began giving her too much to do. Every time they would give her a new job, they would never take away the old one to give to someone else. However, to keep her from leaving, they gave her healthy raises and bonuses, making it impossible for other employers to match. My daughter hated her job more and more every day. She has been looking for a new job for months, in the media industry. Finally, while we were in Florida, she gets a call from a production company. After a couple of interviews she gets the job. She is happy that today is her last day at the plumbing company, but she is taking a huge cut in pay to pursue her career. She can only afford to do this because she lives at home. Hopefully, she will be happy and productive at her new company. Money isn’t everything.

My younger daughter graduated this May and has been looking for work ever since. She majored in Medical Technology, which is supposed to be in high demand. After many months of sending out her resume, she was beginning to get concerned and discouraged. She graduated with honors and passed the licensing test with flying colors, but no job offers were coming her way. It’s frustrating after working so hard for four years. She had been told she will be a hot commodity after becoming licensed and then nothing happened for her. I shared her concern and prayed for her. I encouraged her even though I was worried. However, today she has a very promising interview at a state of the art laboratory that has facilities all over the world. She has two more interviews scheduled on Monday with two great hospitals. I really feel hopeful that she will be offered a job this time around.

When I graduated college back in 1976, the economy was a mess and there were no jobs to be had. I sent out a hundred resumes and cover letters, all typed by hand because we had no computers and printers. Out of that came two interviews, one at a big retail store in Manhattan, which I totally blew. The other interview was for a teller trainee at a bank. Thank God I got the second job because no other calls came for interviews. It wasn’t my ideal job, but it was a job. So, I understand how difficult my girls had it looking for work and how sometimes you have to take a job you don’t necessarily want until the one you want comes along.

I’m proud of both of them. They kept trying, even when discouraged. They networked with friends who had jobs to see if there were any openings available where they worked. And even at the worst of times, they were better off than most college graduates. They always had a roof over their heads and food on the table, no loans to pay off, no bills piling up. I think many kids today might take advantage of the situation and just freeload until they get the job of their dreams. But my girls always wanted to work and be independent. They worked very hard in school so that when they graduated they would be well prepared for their chosen careers. Unfortunately, the economic times made it very difficult, but they persevered.

I am anxious to see how my older daughter likes her new job. She starts on Tuesday. I am equally excited for my younger daughter, who may soon be able to put all her skills and education into a new career. As hard as they have worked, they deserve to be happy and working for someone who appreciates their strong work ethic.

Mitt Romney Jokes About Unemployment…

Ironically, last June, Mitt Romney joked about being unemployed himself, to a group of voters in Florida. Mitt has spent the last eight years running for president, so technically he would be correct. However, as a concerned citizen about the high rate of unemployment, and watching it affect my loved ones and friends, I do not find his comments funny. I find it even more offensive when I have come to learn, in recent days, that the man claims to make over 20 million ($20,000,000+) a year. AND, on top of that, pays the bear minimum of 14% in income tax! Imagine him trying to “relate” to the general public and “whine” about his misfortune, joking or not?

Poor Mitt has a family fortune of about a quarter of a billion dollars. I came across an article that said in 1998 he made 342 million from a company, Bain Capital in Florida, that was going bankrupt. I’m sure I could find many examples of why he shouldn’t be joking about unemployment. He will never be able to relate to the average American citizen, he has been rich all his life. Why should unemployment be a priority to him? I think he is just saying what people want to hear, but his true colors came out last June.

I am not listening to the politicians campaign. Maybe after the Republicans settle down and pick someone, I might pay more attention. However, I can’t help but be caught in some of the crossfire when I hear things on the news or some discussion at the family dinner table. When I hear Romney speak, I find him annoying. I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t think he takes the issues we face as a country seriously. He seems to have a cavalier attitude to me. I am not going to listen more closely to see if I change my opinion. I don’t care enough. However, I heard this morning that Newt Gingrich is gaining more support these days, but the polls keep fluctuating. No one is clearly ahead when it comes to these two. And this is the case even after Newt’s ex-wife put out some disturbing information about their marriage. So, I guess Romney isn’t irritating just me? Either way, I am not happy with either candidate.

I find politics exhausting. People are always debating the issues to death. We all basically want the same things. To live as our forefathers said, with certain inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It’s just that simple. We have to fix the things that are interfering with these rights. No one seems very happy to me. This used be called the land of opportunity. It held promise and hope for all who came here. Now all we hear about are people in despair, who want to work and can’t find jobs; who are sick and don’t have health care; who want to pay their bills, but have no money for food. Something has gone terribly wrong and pointing fingers of blame is a waste of time and energy; it’s not productive. What would be nice is if democrats and republicans rolled up their sleeves, forgot about party lines and got to work. That’s only going to happen if we get rid of all the male politicians and elect females instead. Women know how to work together to accomplish a common goal without their egos getting in the way. They don’t care about getting the credit, they just want to come up with a solution. How about a little experiment? We make all the male politician stay home and let their wives take over for a while and see how things go?

I’ll bet Mitt Romney’s wife wouldn’t be joking about unemployment, she’d be working to fix it.