Real Costs Of Unemployment

We have all heard the stories, the horror, the spin and the outright lies about unemployment….we have heard what it is doing to the economy, to Wall Street and the resty….but what is the “true” costs of unemplyment?

A new New York Times/CBS News poll offers a glimpse of the devastating human impact of the US unemployment crisis.

The poll and interviews illustrate some of the measures taken by unemployed workers to survive. About one quarter of those surveyed have relied on food stamps and one fifth have received help from food charities. Half said that their spouse has taken on extra hours or another job to supplement family income, and 53 percent have borrowed money from family members in order to make ends meet.

Sixty percent have liquidated money from savings and retirement accounts. Among these is Lee Daves, 54, who worked as a machinist making $13 an hour in Springfield, Missouri, until he was laid off in January. His unemployment benefits, which are soon to expire, are not enough to pay for his modest lifestyle. To pay bills, he was forced to sell off his 401(k) retirement account.

One of the survey’s more striking revelations is that nearly half of the unemployed workers in its sample have received no unemployment benefits through the nation’s restrictive jobless insurance system. Among those who have, 61 percent say that this has not been enough money to pay for mortgages, health insurance, food and other expenditures.

Fifty-four percent of those polled by the Times/CBS say they have cut back on medical treatment or visits to the doctor, and forty-seven percent are without health care coverage.

Unemployment is causing anxiety, stress, and other mental disorders, the poll finds. Nearly 70 percent of respondents reported being “stressed more than usual,” while 55 percent reported suffering from insomnia. A quarter have sought help from mental health professionals. Forty percent say that as a result of unemployment they have noticed changes in the behavior of their children.

Now we see what the real costs of unemployment is……it goes far beyond the spin that the financial media would have you believe….it is disastrous to families and sanity….

[Via http://lobotero.wordpress.com]