Pandemic unemployment ends-many unemployed individuals complain

| September 9, 2021

ABC tweets that jobless Americans have few options in response to the end of the pandemic augment to unemployment. Senator Cruz drops some wisdom. (Twitter)

Some politicians tried to describe the government as “unfair” towards the unemployed for letting the pandemic related unemployment benefits to end. How could these individuals be left out like that? This is a hard argument to make when employers across the country have a hard time filling job openings.

One common justification from people for accepting these benefits instead of finding a job? They were getting more money combined from regular unemployment and the pandemic augmentation. To them, getting paid more to not work was better than working low pay jobs where both the employer and the customers “were not nice” to them.

From the Washington Examiner:

They found themselves on a benefits system that was absurdly augmented to pay many workers more than their jobs, with welfare paying up to $25 an hour in many states. At first, this state of dependency was certainly not the fault of the unemployed. But for many months now, there have been enormous labor demand and widely available, safe, effective vaccines against COVID-19, leaving little excuse for most of the idle lingering on the taxpayer dole.

The “temporary” expanded benefits have finally been allowed to lapse more than a year later, expiring on Sept. 6. To be clear, this doesn’t mean all unemployment benefits have ended, just that the unemployment welfare system has reverted to its pre-pandemic norms. But now, the welfare recipients who’ve enjoyed their year-plus taxpayer-funded vacation aren’t very happy. About 7.5 million people lost benefits after the federal augmentation lapsed, and they’re making their feelings known in media interviews.

I’m very, very angry because this is an attempt, in my opinion, to force us all back to work in low-paying jobs, like in hospitality and retail, where people are treated like garbage by customers and by the companies they work for, where their work schedules change at the very last minute,” Massachusetts-based former dishwasher Lois Prew said . “It’s incredibly difficult for parents to find care at the last minute for their children.

To just cut people off, it’s ridiculous and it’s unethical and it’s evil,” New York-based photographer Travis Curry told the New York Times. “If we can’t buy food or go to local businesses because we don’t have money to live in New York, how will New York come back?

It just feels like being discarded,” former producer Kathleen Fox told the Washington Post. Fox complained that she was being forced to — gasp! — apply for jobs that pay less than she previously made. “The stress of everything has just caused me a lot of emotional distress that I didn’t have before.”

These particular individuals, quoted by left-of-center media outlets seeking to vilify the lapse in welfare benefits, are not outliers. At least 1.8 million people have chosen not to return to work due to ultragenerous benefits, polling shows , and that’s probably a huge underestimate. (People typically underreport socially stigmatized behavior when polled.)

The Washington Examiner has the article and a collection of tweets on the topic here.

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Society

32 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
26Limabeans

You can feed jelly donuts to a healthy Bear all day long and
he will be happy to let you feed him. But when you stop feeding or run
out of donuts he will be happy to eat you.

Anonymous

Bears gonna bear…

Fyrfighter

Well, spent the last half hour trying to work up a tear for these lazy whiny slugs, but alas, not a one to be had..
Phuk Em!

MI Ranger

Unfair: They have been told these benefits would expire for at least four months! There are so many commercials and adds right now for great jobs and benefits they should have been at least comparing what to apply for! Likely they have just been ignoring all of the information and thinking they will go on indefinitely.

Like George Thorogood said… and the fine Senator for Texas: Get a Job!!

I have a job, and had it all during the “Pandemic”, but I have been checking to see what I might want to change to!!!

Fyrfighter

Agree 100%.. I’ve held a job throughout. My family members both lost jobs when their employers were forced to shut down by the government. One is now in school, training for a new career, and the other went back to work as soon as the business was allowed to reopen. If they can do it, others can to.

Wireman611

In my field and at my current employment, we are struggling hold on to qualified maintenance people. They are being out bid.

Fyrfighter

In my business, some areas, such as DC are now requiring the jab to keep your job. Lots of people who are eligible to retire are taking that option. A cousins wife is waiting to be fired for not getting it (yeah, she’s lining up fallback options), but have heard that if you’re in that position, make them fire you instead of quitting, so when the class action suits go forward, you have standing…
Seems that is hospitals are really as overwhelmed as the left is claiming, getting rid of good employees because they won’t get jabbed seems… counterproductive…

KoB

Welp, you sorry, lazy, good for nothing slackards and deadbeats have had a nice 18 months of paid vacation. I’ll let Mr. George Thorogood and his destroyers speak for me.

Roh-Dog

Unfair?! We’ve collectively lost our understanding of the inglush language.
What WAS unfair?
-theft of income by nullifying collections of rent and cessation in private commerce. ORDERED diktats from illegal (read: ‘unfair’) Health Commissars.
-shutting of houses of worship and other clubs, unions of the likeminded (I do believe this was outlined in our contract with the USG, see The Constitution)
-Via money printing and the resultant odorous pile of filth in the most regressive tax Known to Man, inflation; subsidizing an objectively mandated fake “‘vaxxines'”, giving the state, companies and banks untold power, minting many, many more billionaires in the process

A message to all subsidized folks; Wall Streeters, photographers, dish washers, pensioners alike: when these weapons of fiat currency eventually detonate, you will starve.

All of these distortions will be paid for by the resultant chaos sewn by misallocations of resources. Keep begging for more gibbmes and a set of personalized chains whilst you’ at it, clowns.

Anonymous

Socialism, it makes people that way.

AW1 Rod

Behold my Field of Fucks! For it is barren, and I have no Fucks to give!

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

SFC D

I had a terrible crop this year too. I’m hoarding the few fucks I harvested.

Good Godfrey

“To just cut people off, it’s ridiculous and it’s unethical and it’s evil,” New York-based photographer Travis Curry told the New York Times. “If we can’t buy food or go to local businesses because we don’t have money to live in New York, how will New York come back?”

First off: who the HELL makes a living as a ‘photographer’?

B): Ol Trav’ is making a mighty big assumption that people WANT NY to ‘come back’.

Name edited to protect PII.
AW1

Hack Stone

Felix Unger, for one example. Of course he was an odd fellow.!

Mason

“To just cut people off, it’s ridiculous and it’s unethical and it’s evil”

These idiots really either didn’t pay attention that this was only ever going to be temporary or they were stupid enough to think that the politicians in Washington actually care.

Anonymous

Both. They’re that retarded.

Deckie

Probably a little from column A and a little from column B there.

David

Not a fan of overgenerous unemployment, but a lot of those unemployed WANT work and have found none. I know a) an automobile certified Master parts guy with over 30 years’ experience, b)a BS/MBA procurement engineer/manager, c) senior procurement manager, d) SER specialist manager…over a century’s experience, good skills, but over 50 and can’t find jobs paying more than MacDonalds. It ain’t a one-sided picture.

5JC

Tell your friend if he wants a job in his field they are paying a small fortune around here here for his skills. They will even pay relocation expenses to get him down here. He can practically have his pick of auto manufacturers.

Doesn’t want to move? I guess he only wants a job but so bad..

David

So where is here?

Ret_25X

I call BS. Qualified people are being literally cherry picked from companies right now. People that can find no job at all often have other issues that they don’t divulge, or their age is being held against them.

My CSM sense is tingling. There is more to the story than “can’t find a job anywhere but McDonalds”

Carlton

It is going to be even funnier when all these signs begging people to apply disappear, and the people who drove by the signs laughing every day but now need work find that the jobs are no longer available.

A Proud Infidel®™

An unemployed Dishwasher bawling about a cut in income, that’s a hoot! I’ve worked as a Dishwasher in the past myself, didn’t bawl for more money just for that, I saw it as a place to start, was always looking for a way to improve and make myself more attractive and productive to Employers, and now I’m making a very nice income for myself and family, THAT’S what’s supposed to happen and I also blame the lame-ass public edjukayshun system for putting it in so many people’s heads that everyone owes them just for breathing!

Boiling Mad CPO

My give a damn seems to be busted

Dustoff

“It just feels like being discarded” Translation: Please don’t stop the free shit.

Messkit

On the plus side..

..the welcome return of my stolen taxes for the last year, saved enough of my measly federal pension, that I was able to buy a new Harley 3 weeks ago.

potato potato potato…

Commie-Tsar

I WANT MY FREE SHIT AND I WANT IT NOW!!!!

Blaster

I guess I’m having a real hard time understanding why they are unemployed when EVERY Fn business that I walk into has a “help-wanted” sign on the door!?!?!?!?

Seems to be by design, doesn’t it??????

I’ll bet the same people complaining, get their info from CNN and MSNBC 🤷‍♂️

Ret_25X

Once sloth become fashionable, indolence a virtue, and exploitation of taxpayers moral, the problem of the welfare addict became inevitable.

Old tanker

There is a very valid reason that folks in the Game Management as well as Park Rangers tell visitors not to feed the critters. They become dependent on the handouts. It works the same way for people too. We were on the precipice of the Roman Empire’s strategy of keeping the populace happy with bread and circuses. That is a dead end indeed.

Roh-Dog

Opinions vary, I heard and believe that the Romans fell because of money debasement and coin clipping.
This behavior allowed great consolidation of wealth by those who could secure loans from big business/the gov, and a reliance on slave labor ruined the ability for the lower-rungs to leave poverty…. enter bread-and-circuses.

This story is not new

Berliner

Friend (E7 Mess Sgt) now on terminal leave before retiring has been working the past 2 years as an Amazon Flex delivery driver using his car. He’s going to a full time position shortly. I saw this reading the news this morning regarding Amazon jobs:

Amazon is offering to pay the full cost of college tuition, including books and fees, for its 750,000 hourly U.S. employees.

SIGN-ON BONUSES up to $3,000 + get paid up to $22/hr