The 99ers: Addicted To Unemployment

I’m in favor of a social safety net. My position on this is liberal, not libertarian. I’ve never personally taken a dime in unemployment benefits but I don’t judge people who lose their job and have to get public assistance.

But here’s no contradiction in being in favor of benefits for the jobless and also acknowledging the reality that at at some point, these benefits become counter-productive. It seems pretty obvious to me that at a certain point they no longer become an incentive to get a job but start to be a real disincentive. I personally think 99 weeks is way, way past that point.

I was talking about this on Twitter the other day when I first heard about The 99ers. They were described to me as a sort of union for the unemployed.

They have a slick looking website. (It’s an interesting and perhaps telling detail that that they are promoting the fake ‘ poor people in Minnesota can’t carry more than $20′ story) They have their own #99ers hashtag on Twitter. They have a video with music that could be in a beer commercial.

On one hand, this IS a form of productivity but mostly his just strikes me as an awful, awful idea. Being jobless or unproductive isn’t a condition that anyone would want to stay in, but I can’t help feeling that as soon as you have your own Twitter hashtag, you’ve actually formed some sort of little club.

By declaring yourself a 99er, you’re identifying yourself with what should be a temporary state, not at all part of your being. Politically, this is a group out there pushing for more benefits for the unemployed with apparently no end in sight; a bottomless pit of dependency.

And on a personal note, way beyond politics — don’t you dare tell me I’m not being compassionate. That’s a completely bogus argument that isn’t justified by any political ideology. I looked up the word ‘compassion and here’s one definition…

the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it

My idea of ‘doing something about it’ is to offer people who are stuck the best advice I can give that would end their dependency and that advice begins with – stop making excises and start taking full and complete responsibility for your own life and circumstance. Is this blaming people? Not a bit. It may not be your fault if you get laid off or your town was hit by a hurricane but that doesn’t change the fact that taking responsibility for how you react to what fortune brings you if your best possible move.

I had a #99er send me a couple of messages out of the blue on Twitter a few days ago. I sent her a PDF copy of the classic book by Napoleon Hill, Think And Grow Rich. It’s not a bad place to start for inspiration and ideas and if you’re out of work and have some free time. Here’s the response…

Oh, I’ve walked a few miles in those shoes. My personal history is out there on the internet in any number of places so I won’t repeat it here but sorry – if anyone thinks I hold this position because I don’t understand what it’s like to struggle; sorry, you’ve got the wrong guy.

Here’s an interview my friend Johnny B. Truant did with entrepreneur Jon Morrow. As the article says, Jon has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a degenerative neuromuscular disease that progressively weakens the body to the point of complete atrophy, and eventual death. In other words – it’s highly likely he has a better excuse than anyone else reading this to not do…anything, really. He could complain about being a victim all day and it’d be pretty hard to argue with him. Instead, he’s achieved a lot more than most people.

I have compassion for the 99ers but I have compassion for a man like Jon Morrow. I understand and relate to their hardships as best I can. But tell me – should Jon learn a lesson from the 99ers…or vice versa?