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Dead On Arrival

  • That fateful day finally arrived. I like to think of it as the third first day of the rest of my life. The first, of course, was graduating from high school and the second was the day I moved into my freshman dorm. The third first day of the rest of my life was the afternoon when I submitted the last final paper of my undergraduate career at my favorite professor’s office and left the University of Oregon campus singing Don’t You Forget About Me by the Simple Minds (you know, like in Breakfast Club). I even walked off campus through the soccer field, which made me feel exactly like Judd Nelson.

  • My graduation came without much more than a nibble from the multitudes of job applications and résumés I sent out. I wasn’t completely out of line in hoping I could have a bag in the trunk of my car that afternoon so that I could jet out to any possible location to immediately begin working. I do know several people who moved immediately upon finishing their exams and started working within a week. One friend went to work for a local advertising agency. Another drove to Los Angeles and began working with Drew Barrymore at her production company. One waited until four months after graduation to even begin applying and got the very first job she applied for. Fortunately for them they were passionate about degrees that were useful in industries that were not hard hit by the economic recession. Namely, they had training in advertising, public relations, and journalism, respectively.

  • I had received training to become involved in family and human services, and industry that, though now in ultra-high demand, has lost all of its funding since the economy tanked. I received plenty of letters and emails from prospective employers congratulating me on working so hard to excel in college and for being so passionate about working in social services. They applauded my zealousness and wished me luck but, with all of the budget cuts that state offices and nonprofit groups faced, they would only hire individuals with college degrees as well as a master’s degrees or enormous amounts of related experience. I was so busy during the last couple of years of my college career that I didn’t even do an internship or a single day of volunteer work. Now that I look back, it may have been worth it to sacrifice eating and sleeping to have this experience. I had a degree that was useless and aspirations to join an industry that virtually no longer existed.

Things I Could Have Done With My College Loan Debt.

letltshine:

(Since its obviously not helping me now).

1) Invest it.

2) Bought a new car.

3) Traveled.

4) Completely pimp out my room.

5) Wore a different outfit for every fucking day of the year.

6) Vacationed.

7) Studied abroad.

8) Could have had work done. (For those of you whose into that kind of thang).

9) Paid for graduate school.

10) Lastly, I could have use the money for something actually USEFULL, like idk, MY WEDDING, DOWN PAYMENT TO A HOME, ETC ETC ETC. -_________-

Feel free to add to the list.

One nation, underemployed | The Great Debate

Of course, the 9.1% of unemployed Americans in our country would gladly take even the worst of jobs to put food on their tables.  But as recent Census data reveals, 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty in 2010 — many of whom have jobs, just not jobs that are good enough. In fact, for all American workers, the Census Bureau found that media household incomes (adjusted for inflation) declined by 2.3% in 2010 over the previous year — even as worker productivity and corporate profits rose.

America needs an economic recovery not just on paper but on principle — where the quality of life for workers rises as the quantity of jobs and our overall economy grows.  Which is why it’s deeply troubling that so many in our government are trying to undermine the quality of current jobs, let alone create more and better jobs for the future.

Union jobs = good jobs

There’s a reason the protesters at Occupy Wall Street are linking arms with unions.  Unions raise wages for all workers.  Studies have shown that a large unionized presence in a given industry raises wages for all workers in that field.  In draconian, anti-union “Right to Work” states, all workers make on average $5,438 less per year than workers in states that allow free bargaining.  Not to mention the fact that many benefits non-unionized workers now expect on the job — from health insurance to sick leave — were first established because unions fought for them and such benefits became the norm.

In the prosperous 1950s, nearly one-in-three American workers belonged to a union.  Today, thanks to attacks on union rights by big business conservatives, closer to one-in-ten workers is a union member. In the intervening decades, data show that as unionization rates have declined, so have middle class wages and income.

Some voters are put off by the political power of unions, understandable in a political system that is more controlled by special interests than ordinary citizens.  But unlike corporations that lobby Washington so they can make more money, unions are advocating for better jobs — to raise your quality of life, increase your pay and benefits and put more money in your pocket.  The conservative case against unions is entirely political.  From an economic perspective, unions are essential to creating good, middle class jobs.

Real Unemployment at 11%, Underemployment Around 20%

emilyoccupies:

Official unemployment numbers – which have been hovering close to the nine-percent number for an uncomfortably long time – represent the number of people who are actively looking for work and can’t succeed in that search.

Sometimes that perception can become distorted. A lot of Americans think that the unemployment rate more simply represents the number of people that do not have jobs. As much as I wish that were the case, it’s not.

Those who do not have jobs and are also no longer looking for work are called discouraged workers. In November of this year, there were 1.1 million discouraged workers recorded in the United States…

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