Unemployment Benefits: Important Life Line for Millions of Americans.

My name is Ron. I am 47 years old and reside with my wife and son in a suburb of NYC. I graduated in 1990 with a Master of Public Administration degree from Pace University. I have close to 20 years of credit, customer service, administrative, financial & managerial experience. I wish to leave my last name anonymous since it is not relevant to what I am trying to accomplish in this essay.

Back in 10/08, my position as the Senior Lease Administrator for a major manufacturer was eliminated after six years due to managerial and organizational changes. Since 10/08, I have posted my resume on over eighty different job sites. I have had a total of five interviews since 10/08 and I have not landed one of those jobs. If it was not for a temporary seven week project, I would officially be unemployed for over a year.

While I was attending graduate school in the late 1980's, I was addressing the issues that are affecting the very fabric of American society today. Those issues included the outsourcing of quality jobs; health care; the growing disparity between rich and poor; environmental concerns; regulation vs. deregulation; the decay of our infrastructure; campaign reform; homelessness; education; Social Security and other entitlements.

There is something fundamentally wrong where our elected officials can pass tax payer funded billions in bailout packages quickly for their friends on Wall St., in various financial sectors, etc. and yet average Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own have to beg for financial aid? It is a travesty of justice, period.

I truly believe that unemployment benefits should continue indefinitely until a job is found. Every week, you read or hear that another 400K+ jobs are lost. How are people suppose to find employment when there is so much competition for the jobs that are available, however menial? As I stated, I have been on a total of five interviews. On one interview, there were over 650 applicants. My parents, who are in their late 70's, semi-retired and reside in FL mentioned that there were two postal positions available & over 5,000 applicants.

It is a travesty of justice that a very select few can run for office. Just think about it. It costs millions of dollars to run for a Senate or House seat when the position itself pays approximately $160K/year. It doesn't make sense. Do you really think these individuals that run care about any of us? They only run because of the perks, power, status and prestige. Just go to the http://www.opensecrets.org website and review the 2007, 2006 net worth of our Senators and Representatives. They truly do not represent the average American.

What I am trying to do is help by having everyone think outside the box and not just be robots. If everyone would just close their eyes, try to put themselves in other people's shoes and listen to songs like Imagine by John Lennon; Little Man by Alan Jackson and A Different World by Bucky Covington and really understand what is being said, maybe, just maybe, real change for the betterment of society, our children and future generations would happen.

Unemployment benefits are not a handout. It is something that is vital for millions of Americans like myself. I did not ask to be unemployed. I gave my heart and soul to my most recent employer only to be stabbed in the back. Sound familiar? Unemployment compensation is a benefit that is needed to stabilize society as a whole. Each week, it appears that at least another 400K+ people lose their jobs. Again, how are people suppose to find employment when there is so much competition for the jobs that are available, however menial?

To all who are still employed, I ask and implore that you call Senators and urging them to support continuous unemployment extensions because at the end of the day, you may be joining us. Try to close your eyes and put yourselves in those shoes. Quite scary, disconcerting and disheartening isn't it? Something to truly think about!

What we, as average Americans, either employed or unemployed are losing sight of is the fact that the very wealthy run this country, period. They are a select few who maliciously and purposely manipulate the system for their own selfish greed. These are the individuals, who unfortunately, as Americans, we have to vote for because they are the only ones that have the resources to run for office. They are the ones who write the complicated tax codes just to maintain their own financial interests and the interests of their friends on Wall St., in various financial sectors, etc. It does not matter if they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents. They are all the same and they are pitting the average citizen against each other. The disparity between rich and poor and the concentration of wealth that these individuals have vis-a-vs average Americans is disheartening, disconcerting & most importantly, dangerous!

Our elected officials, over the course of decades, have enacted policies that only exacerbated the current unemployment crisis that we are in. They are the ones that are polarizing and dividing the very fabric of American society. They are the ones that are manipulating the situation so we bicker among ourselves. As a result, they can continue policies that serve not only their own financial interests, but the financial interests of their wealthy friends. They are diverting attention from where it really needs to be addressed.

Our local, state and Federal governments are no longer, "For the People and by the People." It is time to take back what is rightfully ours and the only way to do that is by looking deep inside ourselves and deciding what is most important.

Again, unemployment compensation is not a handout in any way, shape or form. It is a benefit that we are all entitled to. It stabilizes the very base and fabric of society. It is a safety net in a time of severe economic crisis. The average American did not create this mess. The mess was created by the group that I mentioned previously. Our fault lies in the fact that we did not stop them and hold them accountable for their actions. The main reason we did not stop this fiasco is because we are all to busy with our own lives. We are all to busy trying to get ahead at any cost. We all forgot about the concepts of community, sharing, honesty, integrity, ethics and values.

I would love the opportunity of having Senators and others who are against extending unemployment benefits look me, my wife and son straight in the eyes and see the fear. Taking the preceding one step further, have them look into the eyes of single mothers and fathers trying to make ends meet; look into the eyes of individuals in their 50’s, 60's or 70's who have worked all their lives and continue to work because they cannot make ends meet and/or because they lost everything due to the actions of a greedy few. It is a travesty of justice. It goes against everything America stands for!

If we all do not make hard choices and come together now, we are not going to leave anything worthwhile for our children and future generations to come. We all need to come together and re-evaluate what is important. From my perspective, what is important are family, values, honesty, integrity, ethics and a sense of community. We are all one and we are all in this together. It does not matter what our socio-economic background is; it does not matter whether or not we were fortunate enough to attend higher level academic institutions. It just does not matter!

Remember, this is not just an unemployment benefit issue. As previously stated, it is just one extremely important piece of the puzzle. It is a piece that provides a lifeline and security to millions. Those millions include single mothers and fathers with children; families, extended families; veterans; the elderly and individuals with disabilities. It may even be providing assistance to your mother, father, brother, sister, cousin, close friend, etc.

No one can actually put themselves in other people's shoes. But if all have empathy, sympathy and caring in our hearts; if we use those wonderful traits and close our eyes for a moment and possibly try to feel what others are going through, wonderful things will start to happen.