loss of jobless aid leaves many with bleak options

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LOSING_UNEMPLOYMENT_BENEFITS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-12-13-47-34


In this Jan. 10, 2014 photo, Stan Osnowitz poses in his living room in Baltimore. A cutoff of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed has left more than 1.3 million Americans with a stressful decision: What now? Osnowitz, 67, lost his state unemployment benefits of $430 a week in December. The money put gasoline in his car so he could look for work. An extra three months of benefits - one of the options Congress is debating in an effort to restore the federal program - would enable his job search to continue into the spring, when construction activity usually increases and more electrical jobs become available. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A cutoff of benefits for the long-term unemployed has left more than 1.3 million Americans with a stressful decision:

What now?

Without their unemployment checks, many will abandon what had been a futile search and will no longer look for a job - an exodus that could dwarf the 347,000 Americans who stopped seeking work in December. Beneficiaries have been required to look for work to receive unemployment checks.

Some who lost their benefits say they'll begin an early and unplanned retirement. Others will pile on debt to pay for school and an eventual second career. Many will likely lean on family, friends and other government programs to get by.

They're people like Stan Osnowitz, a 67-year-old electrician in Baltimore who lost his state unemployment benefits of $430 a week. The money put gasoline in his car to help him look for work.

[customerserviceguy]

1. At least

he's old enough to get Social Security, and he'll get more than those who started taking it at 62 or 65. There are people who are ten years younger in the same unemployable situation.

[yeoman6987]

4. Very strange

I can't believe that he does not know he can get Social Security. I think the press should use people who are seriously hurting like 50 somethings. This to me is a lost opportunity on a story that is important and that people will not take seriously.

[Fumesucker]

2. A 67 year old has just about zero chance of getting hired at a construction job

Not to put too fine a point on it but someone of that age (not too far from my own actually) can't keep up in the physically demanding construction trades.

He should accept the inevitable and take Social Security.

Actually I wonder why someone more than eligible for SS was used to exemplify the plight of the unemployed.

[independentpiney]

3. The other subject of the article is a 58 y/o teacher

talking about going back to college for 2 years. and then working "forever" as a social worker. Seems to me there might be an agenda here, but I'm not sure what it may be.