The New Poor?

New York Times reports on the long-term unemployed and offers sympathy for what they consider "the new poor".

I was standing in line at the Pizza Hut the other night and noticed they were short handed. Making polite conversation with a lady standing beside me, I asked the question, “Why would any business be shorthanded with so many people out of work?”

Her answer addressed my question so profoundly that it continues to come to mind every time I read an article advocating extending unemployment benefits. She let me know she was unemployed and her unemployment check paid her more than working full time at the Pizza Hut and that she was better off financially by not taking a job.

This answer changed my opinion on unemployment in America and has made me reevaluate my position on the jobless in our country. I first defined my own values and beliefs if I were to lose my job. Here is what I came up with:

I do not believe

• I deserve your sympathy because I lost my job
  

• I am too good to work at the Pizza Hut
  

• I am too good to walk or ride a bike to work
  

• I should maintain my current standard of living if I lose my job
  

• our government is responsible to find me a job
  

• I am entitled to own my own home if I can’t afford it
  

• I have the right to bitch about our government if I didn't exercise my right to vote

I do believe

• The best way to appreciate what I have is to lose it
  

• I am responsible to get off my ass and do something, not stay home and watch Oprah.
  

• I should scale down my expenses
  

• I should be made to take a drug test before being eligible for government aid
  

• our government has created this catastrophe in order to make Americans more dependent on government aid
  

• politicians and news media are sympathetic because it sells papers and buys votes

You are welcome to disagree with my beliefs, but they are mine and I’m not pushing them off on anyone. You are welcome to feel as entitled as you wish, but I believe this entitlement attitude is bullshit and will be the downfall of our country.

For those Americans who do feel entitled to a great job, an unending unemployment check, owning a home, eating out 2-10 times a week, cable TV, high speed internet, tobacco, alcohol, new clothes, ect… just remember that 50 years ago, these items were either non existent or an expensive luxury.

Our grandparents worked much harder for so much less than we do today. They bought clothes at garage sales, raised vegetables in a garden, stayed home and played games for entertainment, cooked almost all their meals themselves and never complained that they didn’t have enough. They even shared what they had with the less fortunate; and ironically, by today’s standards, they would be the ones considered less fortunate.

So go ahead America, blame your situation on someone else. Expect your government to come to your rescue. Scream to the mountains about your rights as an American and how mistreated you are because you don’t have a job. See if it helps…

If there is only one thing I could leave you and hope you would remember is “attitude is everything”. If you expect someone to bail you out instead of bailing yourself out, be prepared for disappointment.

'At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, 
and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised. "

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.'

Job 1: 20-22

Please pray for America, she needs our prayers. God isn’t very happy with her because His children have turned away. He’s in the process of getting our attention…

Denney Crane