Long-term unemployed Americans held a candle light vigil as a form of protest against the newly-enacted unemployment extension. These citizens, known as “99ers” because they have exhausted their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, are outraged that the new legislation did not include any benefits for the long-term unemployed. Millions of Americans have exhausted all of their unemployment benefits and have still not been able to find any work. Without any inclusion in the recent bill, the number of 99ers will continue to increase as more Americans will run out of benefits over the coming weeks and months.
The candle light vigil was intended to bring attention to the fact that there are still millions of Americans who cannot find any work and are struggling without any unemployment benefits. Sponsored by the group FlashMobs4Jobs, the vigil went off without a hitch in several cities around the country.
The problem however is that just as there are many people who legitimately cannot find work there are many who do not make an effort to find work and live off of hard working tax-payer dollars, while draining the system of its financial resources. This is what splits the nation in terms of which side to back on this issue. Regardless of where one stands on this issue, there is no question it is a heated debate.
One of the more discussed articles on this site had interesting comments left by those in opposition to cutting off the 99ers benefits. You can read those comments here.
As a working American, it is difficult to see why people need a free ride past 99 weeks which amounts to almost two whole years. We were a country built on hard work and making opportunities happen for ourselves, and two years is more than enough time to scramble an opportunity together. Every fast food, department store and Starbucks seems to be hiring and if I desperately needed to support my family, I would have no problem working two full time jobs to do so.
In fact, I have done so and so have many of my friends.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced a bill in the house on Friday that would extend benefits to the 99ers, but according to most political pundits the bill stands virtually no chance of becoming law. In fact there are some people out there that are outraged that Congresswoman Lee would even try to submit a bill to the house for consideration and give the 99er community a false sense of hope. Seeing as how there is virtually no way that unemployment benefits could be extended for this group of Americans, some columnists feel Lee’s recent actions were just a political ploy to gain positive press around the holidays.
While Lee certainly could have introduced the legislation earlier in the year, at least there was one person in congress who is trying to fight for the 99er community and realizes there are still millions of Americans struggling in this current economy. Hopefully the economy slowly heads towards a recovery soon.
Well I am a 99er. It’s 2:30am I’m sitting here trying to figure out what else I can cut. I have nothing. I was left with no other option than to move in with my mom after being unemployed. My check went from $1000 a week to $480. I am a college graduate had a good job in the medical field however, I was laid off because I was the highest paid person there. I never called out sick, went to work even if I was sick as a dog, always on time and never took vacation time. What did that earn me? Anyway as of last week I have no money coming in. Cobra has since run out months ago and was paying full cost for health insurance, minds well not even pay it for this month since I won’t have enough money in a month to pay for it anyway. As far as us being lazy that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve applied for so many jobs and not even in my field I’m talking retail resturant etc. No one will hire us because we are “over” qualified for those jobs. Meanwhile my field has maybe one job opening every month and there are over 100 applicants. Who are they going to hire the one with more experience(more pay) or a new grad(cheap). At this point I would work doing a job in my field for minium wage instead of the $30/hr i would be paid. I applied for 5 jobs last week alone. I have not heard anything! I call hr at my local hospital so frequently we are on a first name basis! It’s gotten to the point where we feel so crappy and useless, we are the red headed step children of society. Unless you have been here you will never understand what it feels like and our desperation. I pray no one who hasn’t never will. But in the mean time I am left to pray for a miracle that I will find a job and get back to work. I want nothing more than to be able to take care of myself!!!!!!
How dare people call the 99ers lazy and to get off our butts. Don’t spit in the wind because soon you will be on the unemployment line, and hopefully, with no extensions. 🙂
The deadbeat advocacy site ue friendless is no more. Buh Bye and good riddance!
WOO HOO
A new forum quickly took it’s place http://dawu.forumotion.com/
It’s full of the exiled members of ue friendless and most of them are the ones who always whined and gave the unemployed a bad name in the first place. The creator and his helpers have no idea what to do and from their posts on ue, they are unstable at best in their own personal lives! One of the Admins, Jobless, was commenting here (http://obama.net/99ers-exhausting-unemployment-benefits-one-blame-but-themselves/#comment-35922) and based on those comments there, looks like he’s got personal drama going on in his own life! I mean, c’mon! How serious do you think he is about finding a “J.O.B.” in this lifetime? Instead of looking for a job, he wants to play at pretending he’s got what it takes to help run a forum for people who seem to be on their last of the last? Idiotic! By the comments on the other article here on this site, it looks like he’s getting divorced and that it’s because he tried to have his cake and eat it too with one of the people that was commenting there! Again, idiotic!
Oh, looks like all the Admins over there are from the other ue forum. Let’s see, you have Jobless, whom I’ve already commented about above. Now, DesperateinRI, who does nothing but whine about being a 99’er but doesn’t say anything about looking for a job or landing an interview. I mean, geez! How hard can it be to land an interview!
All that new forum does is talk about everything else under the sun EXCEPT legitimately applying for jobs. Same with the ue forum they came from. How can anyone get a job if they are on their computer every day for 10-20 hours each day? These lazy bums wake up and have to have their fix of their ue internet drama, instead of looking for a job! I mean, they talk about pets, boats, sports, lottery (I thought they were BROKE but they play the lotto?!), recipes, scroll for the forums, music, and seem to be alcoholics and addicts on prescription medication- everything else EXCEPT legitimately applying for jobs! These people make the ue people who are honestly looking for a job look BAD and whatever sympathy I had for the ue is gone after seeing how they aren’t doing anything to change that. Like blogging all day long on an ue forum is going to get them a job? Get real! How about this for an idea: Get off your lazy rear ends and actually talk to real people face-to-face every waking moment of the day and keep doing that until you get HIRED? Duh!
I’m with ya, Sebastian. NO MORE HAND-OUTS to these LAZY BUMS. It is us, the employed, that have to carry their dead weight and I refuse to do it. I will do all I can to block more hand-outs for these lazy bums! NO MORE! It should not have even gotten to a maximum of 99 weeks! Politicians dropped the ball on that one! I will help block more HAND-OUTS, in between WORKING (yes, I am employed!) and taking care of my family. Let me know how to help. I will definitely keep commenting about the lazy ue people until I see that they are honestly trying to get a job and stop being burdensome and bothersome creatures that we employed have to carry on our backs as dead weights! To the ue, GET A JOB AND PAY TAXES LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! STOP WHINING AND ASKING FOR MORE CHECKS!
When the long term unemployed (the so-called 99ers)get the additional 14 weeks to be added to tier 1,it will represent a partial payment for the pain and suffering caused by market swindlers. 99 weeks is not enough! The 14 weeks wil give the jobless 3 months of a much needed safety net. But after this latest extension wil those stil without work become the 113ers?
You get no more safety net chump. No one owes you a living. The goal we have is to never to have a 113er. You will not see another dime of free ue handout money until you find another job, and at the rate your going…it looks like forever in your case.
desperate in ri…don’t even start that stuff. we have your bs site on the radar.
A real loser from ue friendless: I.m not going to make it another week,and we are talking about a rally in the third week of march.To little to late for me.Thank you UF for giving me some support and hope the last few months.I am to tired to go on anymore and to be let down so many times. john.
Talk about a weak cyber panhandle attempt to get some broke ass ue’s money and some attention…this john cat just needs to go away.
I exhausted my 99 weeks at the beginning of June 2011. I only found a part time job for 12 hours a week. Although they have increased to 18 hours a week. This is non survivable. I don’t know if I’m eligible for partial beneits. I only worked 5 weeks!
I am an Exhausted 99ers, back in November 2010, and if I had not been going to College I would have lost a lot more than I have already, and I did all of this Education when I was the age of 53. I have graduated from College with an Associate’s Degree in Business Administrative Technology, I have not been able to get a job in the field I went College for because I do not have the Experience, and I cannot get at McDonald’s, Retail, or Production jobs, because they think because I have an Education I want more money!! Sorry to tell these Employer’s I just want a job. I have worked from a meat packing company – sewing company – fast-food – clerical – retail, but I still cannot get a job!!! That does not make any since to me…..I am just so tired of trying!!! Where I live at in Georgia, they just closed a K-Mart, so I really do not think things are getting any better…