commentator
Senior Member
Since I'm not Hugh O'Laughlin or one of those guys, I'll just say it here, I'll put you in my prayers, you're due for some get better things in your life! Kidney stones are mean!
Sad to say, it's possible that compared to other places, the city you were in may have a lower unemployment rate, but then that thing is figured so screwy-ly it has no contact with or very little relation to the realities of daily life. For example, people who have exhausted their benefits, or who are working 20 hours a week for minimum wage when they used to be full time professionals are not even counted. If the big downturn in your area happened more than 2 years ago, most of the affected are not being counted any more.
I have come to work and been unable to get a parking place within a mile of my worksite -- because of a rumor that one of the local companies was going to add a few jobs. I am not amazed that you'd get 200 resumes for one position. Just 200? And I heartily want to strangle those wonderful politicians who announce that if we keep extending unemployment benefits, it discourages people from trying to get another job. It's a popular viewpoint, but only when it hasn't happened to you yet.
The appeals board system in CA is pretty much the same as it is in every state, a landing place for political appointees who need favors and a cushy job that doesn't require an accounting degree or real skills. As are most "boards."
Unfortunately, the agency itself doesn't really have the professional staff on hand that would replace the board, or the money to hire such staff, and when they start talking about contracting it out and privatizing it, that just gets into more political messes and more big salaries. I'd be tickled to volunteer to do it for say, about half of what they're paying the board members now! And it would make a fine job for you. By the way, have you applied for civil service jobs? I know they're laying off statewide, but they do still, at present have insurance benefits and have to hire occasionally.
Sad to say, it's possible that compared to other places, the city you were in may have a lower unemployment rate, but then that thing is figured so screwy-ly it has no contact with or very little relation to the realities of daily life. For example, people who have exhausted their benefits, or who are working 20 hours a week for minimum wage when they used to be full time professionals are not even counted. If the big downturn in your area happened more than 2 years ago, most of the affected are not being counted any more.
I have come to work and been unable to get a parking place within a mile of my worksite -- because of a rumor that one of the local companies was going to add a few jobs. I am not amazed that you'd get 200 resumes for one position. Just 200? And I heartily want to strangle those wonderful politicians who announce that if we keep extending unemployment benefits, it discourages people from trying to get another job. It's a popular viewpoint, but only when it hasn't happened to you yet.
The appeals board system in CA is pretty much the same as it is in every state, a landing place for political appointees who need favors and a cushy job that doesn't require an accounting degree or real skills. As are most "boards."
Unfortunately, the agency itself doesn't really have the professional staff on hand that would replace the board, or the money to hire such staff, and when they start talking about contracting it out and privatizing it, that just gets into more political messes and more big salaries. I'd be tickled to volunteer to do it for say, about half of what they're paying the board members now! And it would make a fine job for you. By the way, have you applied for civil service jobs? I know they're laying off statewide, but they do still, at present have insurance benefits and have to hire occasionally.