Blog Topic

Bankruptcy - Unemployment
Posted by: Darrell Castle
September 24, 2009

The Michael Masterson Journal of Saturday, September 19, 2009 reported Mr. Masterson's views on unemployment, self reliance, etc. "There's no excuse for being unemployed. Even if we have a 20 percent unemployment rate-twice what the government says it is today-8 out of 10 people would still have a job. Being unemployed means you are in the bottom twentieth percentile. There's no excuse for that." ..."You can't expect to get a job unless you work hard at it. Yet everyone I've ever known who was unemployed has rarely spent more than 10 hours a week on their job search. Anyone who works hard and smart at finding a job will find one-so long as he's willing to give at least 50 hours a week."

Well, working hard at finding a job when you are unemployed is certainly good advice. I've always thought that a person should be willing to put in as many hours a week in his job search as he did at his previous job. However, the truth is that the unemployment rate in real numbers is about 20%. Paul Craig Roberts, former assistant secretary of the treasury, recently said that if the government used the same data as it used as recently as the 1980's the unemployment rate would be about 20%. That is because those who have given up on their search or who have been unemployed for over a year are no longer counted.

The unemployed in America are unfortunate to be without a job at a time when our manufacturing base has been transferred to China, Brazil, Mexico and other countries. As a result that $20.00 per hour job in the car factory is often replaced with an $8.00 per hour job in the so called service economy if it is replaced at all. Many people are finding that unemployment compensation runs out before a new job is found and that makes it difficult to pay their bills.

If you find yourself in this situation, perhaps it would be easier to manage if you were without debt. Chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy can sometimes help. If you would like a consultation free of charge to find out if bankruptcy can help you call or email the bankruptcy department of The Law Offices of Darrell L. Castle & Associates.

Permalink