Summary and Opinion - Essay Example

Unemployment in the United s Number A Summary of the Unemployment Situation in America Unemployment rates in America have continued to soar with more than 3.9 million of its population eligible for work remaining unemployed as at 2014. This is even as Congress has failed to renew payments for more than 1.5 million unemployed whose benefits ended at the end of December 2013.With bills to pay and responsibilities to attend to, many in this group like Mary Miller say they would currently gladly take any job they can land, even those that pay less than their previous ones.

Many have since resorted to spending into their lives’ savings as situations continue to get dire with many being forced to live on mean and leaner budgets. It is reported that most of these people have failed to get jobs, attempt after attempt, even for reasons such as over-qualification (Fish, 2014). After the recession, economists argue that however much the economy improved and more (re)gained employment status as a result, it has not done so sufficiently to completely tackle the unemployment situation.

John Mitchell blames this retarded growth on Congress with their standoffs over the debt ceiling, expiration of the payroll tax cut and the sequestration induced federal spending cuts. Traditionally, an unemployment benefit last 26 weeks but this period was extended by Congress during the recession of 2008 when many unemployed people found it difficult to find new jobs. Many of these unemployed people depended on these benefits for their daily livelihoods until they were informed that the benefits were being halted henceforth, leading to strained lifestyles and severe public outcry.

Jennifer Taub, for example, is now accepting help from the extended family against her wishes while Caroline Trude-Rede has since resorted into selling off her valued possessions in order to sustain herself. The House and Congress continued to debate on the extension of unemployment payments in January, 2014 but failed to vote as they recessed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This move and dalliance has furthered uproar with the President being accused of not doing enough to renew long-term unemployment benefits (Fish, 2014).

Opinion In my opinion, the skyrocketing unemployment rates is a major concern in the United States and one that must be dealt with promptly and with the seriousness it deserves by the government if its far-reaching effects are to be checked. The economy must be improved to ensure creation of more employment opportunities and care for the retired and unemployed. In the meantime, the government must not regard the unemployment benefits as leisure money to the ones receiving them but rather, as a necessity if they are going to be able to pay bills and continue to live respectable lives.

ReferencesFish, S. (n.d.). Caution iconAttention. More jobless Americans losing benefits every week. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/31/more-jobless-americanslosingbenefitseveryweek.html