[Depression era bread line - Minnesota Public Radio]The nation is in deep economic trouble. Florida's situation mirrors the nation's problems. For Floridians in need, it is becoming more difficult to get help. If you try to apply for state
unemployment benefits, you can expect a major hassle.
My suggestion is do not move to Florida unless you have a stash of cash or great retirement benefits, or one hell of a good job.
Jobs of any description are becoming more and more difficult to find. In fact, Florida's unemployment rate is now over 8%, the highest in 16 years!
One reason Florida is suffering economically is because in Florida, under Jeb Bush, we liked tax breaks for the rich, which, of course, devastated the state budget. But that wasn't enough. We liked tax breaks of any kind, even for the middle-class. So, we did those, too. Didn't solve the problem.
It did, however, create another huge problem. The state government, which has always been financially strapped, now has even less money to provide basic services for the people. Local governments and school districts share the same fate. Many of these have had to lay off people because of lack of funds, which means less services and poorer service.
If you're already in Florida, or are so dumb as to actually contemplate a move, be prepared. You may have to pave your own street, dig your own well, and dump your trash in your backyard. You may have no other choice than to home-school your kids, carry a gun for protection, and make sure you have enough water on hand to fight a fire.
I'm exaggerating, of course. Still....
One big and symptomatic problem is rearing its ugly head at the state labor department.
Go ahead and try to apply for unemployment benefits. According to an article in the Miami Herald, "there's no way to sign up in person, and those who apply by phone can expect either busy signals or waits of up to 90 minutes to speak to someone. ...
"In December alone, the department handled more than 157,000 applications, or almost triple the number from the same month in 2007. For all of 2008, the department handled 1.3 million applications, or almost twice as many as the previous year."
It appears other states are having similar problems keeping up with the workload as so many people are out of work and needing help to survive.
You may be one of those out of work people.
But, never fear, just remember what Limbaugh said: We're not in a recession or a depression. That's a lie perpetrated by the media. Furthermore, just get out there and pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You shouldn't be looking for help from the government anyway!
The Miami Herald article is here.
4 comments:
That is a problem. Limbaugh lives in Florida but has lots of money, so he is not affected.
This is precisely the kind of thinking that got us into this mess in the first place. It's your kind of entitlement thinking that has led this once great country to become a nation of sheep looking for any handout they can get from the government, so long as someone else pays for it. I suggest you go back and get a good education in history.
Our founding fathers realized from their own experience, and history, that governments are a necessary "evil"; one that left un-controlled by its constituents will soon come to be their jailers.
This country began to go down the toilet as soon as the government gave bankers the right to create and control the money supply, instead of the government. Since then, they have used their power to rob the American people of their labor, and their wealth. (lookup the history of the Federal Reserve... which is neither "Federal", nor a "Reserve")
It was bankers who manufactured the sub-prime mortgage "crisis", and now they are using the monster they created as an excuse to freeze credit on the nation so that they can "foreclose", and take possesion of the wealth of millions of people that were stupid enough to fall into their trap. And, by the way, while they do this, they insist that the taxpayers hand over trillions more dollars to fund the next phase of their diabolical scheme, while simultaneously refusing to be held accountable for how that money is spent. They used similar tactics to rob Americans in the thirties. They cried poor mouth when the country was in dire need of money to fund the economy, but as soon as war threatened, they miraculously found all the money we needed to win the war; at interest of course.
Please do us all a favor and wake up to reality. It's time to abolish the Federal Reserve, and give monetary poicy back to the people's representatives in government, where it belongs; to those who are accountable to the people. Then the goverment can free up the money to get the economy moving again, and dispose of the fabricated "debt" the taxpayers supposedly owe the banks (starting with the Fed). The people can finally be free to live where they want to live, and keep more of what they earn to fulfill their own dreams, instead of forking it over to government, and indirectly, to the banks in the form of government "debt".
You do live in a world of delusion. But that's you're right.
And I taught "history" for a number of years so don't give me your condescending Repugnican bullshit!
I do not think many in Congress are qualified to handle money policies. Look at the past eight years and the current few months. Too many are influenced by big money and do not have the experience or knowledge about business, banking, economics etc. Others have vested interests in banking and Wall Street. I am neither an expert on finances or economics. I have been involved as a senior executive in the business world for most of my adult life though. Many think the Feds have done a good job and many think the opposite. I do not know which are right. I do know that Congress is too varied and too influenced by other considerations to make all the decisions requiring special knowledge and education. They frequently use lobbyists to advise them, many of whom have a specific ax to grind and get paid big bucks to grind that ax. Guess what fields the lobbyists come from and who pays them? I think it is easier to prevent bribery and special interests from controlling the Fed than it is to control all of Congress and the Senate.
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