“In this economy,” is a phrase that my immediate family and I used to preface statements with, just to be amusing. Last month my twenty-year old daughter told my husband that she had not been affected by “this economy,” but the next day she received a letter indicating that she, indeed, has been. Her college scholarship, named after the late Senator Robert C. Byrd, was not funded for the coming school year.
Her letter arrived just weeks after the contract I had been working on for several years, indexing for the National Agricultural Library, came to an end. Knowing the contract would not be renewed in the spring, I began my job search last December, applying to dozens of jobs within a two hour driving distance.
My first interview was a week ago, seventy miles from Chestertown, for a company that supplies restroom hygiene products for businesses and industry. My job would be to set appointments for the sales team, and maintain target sales. Along with good computer skills and an excellent command of the English language (written and spoken), I was to have excellent organizational skills, and be self motivated and determined.
The woman who opened the locked door to the office, which is in an industrial park, asked me if I was Diane. No, I said, and told her my name. She told me to take a seat, and brought me a clipboard with pages to fill out. Most of the information requested was in my resume, except for the final page where I agreed to undergo drug testing and a complete criminal background check.
When I first entered the office, I was overcome by a powerful stench of what I can only call “eau de truck stop.” Not a clean smell, but the kind of artificial chemical bouquet that might be used in lieu of actually cleaning a bathroom. The warehouse for the company’s products is directly behind and connected to the office, I was to find out during my interview.
Before I was handed the clipboard, I took note of the waiting area – two large plastic plants coated in dust, a time clock, and, for reading material, some phone books. As I was doing this, I overheard a heated discussion between the woman who let me in (my supervisor, if I were to take the job, I learned later) and the woman who would soon interview me. I couldn’t make out the words, but I could feel the disappointment and anger.
My interview went very well. My interviewer had flown in from the head office 500 miles away, and was impressed by my resume. She described the company, motioning to the wall behind her which showcased all of the company’s products – toilet mats that don’t show color, and hide the smell of urine, sanitary napkin holders, and hands-free soap dispensers and hand dryers. If I were hired I would be flown to the head office for a week of training. We talked about Chestertown, and she said it reminded her of the town she lives in.
The benefits of this job would be spectacular – 100% health and dental insurance, 401K with matching funds, life insurance, paid holidays, personal days and vacation. Right from the start I indicated that I would like to work from home at least part of the time, as I live seventy miles away, but she said that wouldn’t be possible as the sales people “need a lot of hand holding.”
Then we moved on to the subject of salary: $13.00 an hour, plus commission, but she couldn’t give me an idea of what an average commission might be. It was obvious to both of us that I would not be taking the job if it were to be offered – spending over $100 a week on gas, and almost twenty hours in the car to get there and back would make no sense. We chatted some more and I gave her printouts from her company’s website of two typos, which she was horrified to see and said that she “must show corporate.”
I thanked her for the interview, and left with a splitting headache from the chemicals that my interviewer assured me employees “get used to and don’t even notice after awhile,” and drove back to Chestertown.
Stephan Sonn says
Quite a graphic story.
You do realize that somebody else might to be to hard pressed to refuse that job.
Count yourself lucky that you still have the option to pass.
Carla Massoni says
Interesting that you feel she still has an “option to pass” – and that your take away is that she is somehow lucky. I find this letter heartbreaking. Liz is a terribly bright woman who has shouldered the load for her family in creative ways. Experiencing a child deal with the disappointment of watching her dreams for an education stumble is one of the many hard things parents must endure “in this economy.” Underemployment, missed opportunities for higher education, and the fear that you are failing your family are becoming the norm “in this economy.” I find this letter heartbreaking.
Keith Thompson says
Stephan is right, someone took that job.
I have a story that may be equally bizarre in that I answered an ad for a marketing job with ties to Disney, etc. and showed up at a warehouse and then drove a guy around in my car doing door to door gift sales. I’m convinced that the entire enterprise was set up because the guy couldn’t drive for some reason and needed to use the car of “job applicants” to do the selling on his route.
Though, in this economy one must do what one needs to do. In my case, I swallowed my pride and did some temp warehouse work. One was at amazon.com which ran an amazingly tight ship and one for another warehouse that was so haphazardly run that it had me questioning my worth as a human being. I was also doing DJ/karaoke work and playing in a band, so it wouldn’t be unusual for me to get home at 3am on a Saturday morning (after a Friday night gig) only to get up at 5:30 am to work a 7am-5:30pm mandatory overtime Saturday shift before another band/karaoke gig on Saturday night. Still, I did this rather than having to rely on unemployment to get me through.
Ultimately I think the answer is for people to stop relying on politicians to get us out of this mess mostly because I don’t think it’s the fault of the politicians; the blame lies with the people who have voted them in. I think people need to take control of their own lives. I think people need to get their own house in order before asking the government to do so. I see the solutions coming from the bottom up and not from the top down. Being out of work a few years ago and now coming out of a period when my wife was out of work, has given me an epiphany; and that is I have to get my financial life in order. I’ve been waiting too long for something to happen and it hasn’t been working. I’m working on my own deficit reduction program right now knowing that when I get on better financial footing, I can be immune to a down economy.
Carla Massoni says
It is all well and good to ask people to “take control of their own lives.” But it might be a bit naive. What happens if you have a stroke? Or a sick spouse? Or a disabled child? In case you are unaware of the mechanics of unemployment insurance – you pay into the fund. There is no dishonor in accepting unemployment benefits that one has earned. Sadly, the option of getting one’s financial life in order assumes there is a financial life to organize. Most folks started cutting back in 2008 when the financial system blew up. We are heading towards 2012 and I fear “to the bone” is the only place left to cut. Although I respect your efforts to work in any and all capacities, I might ask who stayed at home with the kids while you were working 24/7? None of this commentary has anything to do with Ms. Janega – who wrote an excellent letter – as we are not privy to her personal situation. But I must tell you, I find it heartbreaking to detect a tone of blame towards those caught up in the maelstrom of the financial chaos we are experiencing.
barbara snyder says
I think Stephan and Keith missed the point of Lizs’ letter. I agree with Carla.
Stephan Sonn says
Carla this cobbled job situation will be the norm
if the idiots win the fight they started.
I would ask you to reach into your to reach into your intellect
as well as your compassion.
IF i SEEM CYNICAL
IT IS TO MAKE A POINT
I am not one of the bad guys
Stephan Sonn says
Keith I hesitate to offer any comment because
you are far too busy preaching eutopian behavior
than too to apply common sense.
Social democracy is qt stake..
There will always be idealogical adversaries
The same cannot be said for resolution in good will.
This is all a mater of strategy.
Stellal says
Re Keith’s comments: I agree that each person should be responsible for his/her life. How much easier this would be is one had universal health plus a great safety net during one’s down period. That would help eevery family.
Catty One says
Very well-written and thought provoking, Liz.
Prefacing it all by stating you had a 20 yr old daughter, I was suspecting it would end as just another tale of age discrimination in workplace hiring. Since you are obviously not a 20 or 30-something.
Even if the job paid 3 or 4 times the rate quoted, and you were willing to accept the commute, do you think you would have been happy with the work?
I guess there is a need for people to sell products to keep restrooms from smelling stinky, making sure there are receptacles for feminine napkins, and that sort of thing.
But its hard to imagine people working with the products you described feeling any real sense of fullfillment. Taking joy in what they do. Passion for their jobs?
Liz, no matter the state of the economy, people are rarely satisfied if they take jobs for which they are over-qualifed. And this sounds like you are clearly in that category.
Companies that are currently offering 100% employer paid health insur. & 50-50 match on 401K….well, those can get taken away in a heartbeat. Even with union contracts in place. That’s the real scary part of this economy, we are seeing events in the corporate sector/Wall Street that they said…aw, never can happen…
Keep plugging, you will find something surely more suited to your abilities and temperament.
You clearly have a well-developed sense of humor, and keen powers of observation for the human experience.
Don’t let this awful economy take that away!
Debi Smith says
Liz is a wonderful person and a wonderful writer. I can relate to 105% of what she says..my most recent job interview in answer to the ad “Giant Is Hiring Temporary Workers” turned out to be them lining up scabs to cross picket lines in the event ongoing talks with Royal Ahold (love that) broke down. I happen to be one of those kooks who respects the good work that unions have done historically at cost of life and limb and I dont care if they are corrupt and ineffectual, I still would not cross a picket line. (Although the manager I spoke to said not to worry, they would be providing security for us. This is being written in 2012 of course but I am so delighted to have found Mrs. Janega’s printed words.
MD Eastern Shore says
Keith, bravo. For 6 months I worked a job on the sadistically designed schedule of 5pm to 5am every other day. Despite the total disruption of my family life, it was a lot better than the alternative of unemployment. And I took the opportunity to fix our finances and get ready for whatever came next. That turned out to be commuting to Philadelphia. I have time only for work and sleep now, but in this economy, its better than nothing. If this is the workers paradise our president seeks, Hell might be preferable.
Stephan Sonn says
Eastern Shore I am guessing that you go Philly on rescue missions for something you own or have interest in. so the sacrifice must have some reward.
As for Catty One: Did it ever occur to you that Liz was willing to travel 2 hours away from home for a job because she still might be feeding a family. It takes guts to walk away from a bad job however needed.the income.
Keith When I first went to Manhattan back in the day, my interview consisted of drawing a floor plan of Macy’s first level. It was to test my initiative and willingness to take on odd or varying assignments. I did it and eventually wound up at Saks doing a computer project where initiative was the qualification in new territory.
Carla I am not optimistic about the viability of the world we grew up in and helped build so I would be happy to see Obama call up the 14th amendment. to protect the integrity of the nation But that opens another Pandora’s box that just feeds the Tea Party and I think he will leave it fester until the 2012 election.
It seems to me that somewhere we don’t see something is peering at us through a looking glass.
Keith Thompson says
@ Carla, Stephan & Stella
#1. I wasn’t able to collect unemployment due to several factors…the nature of my dismissal, because I was working out of state, and because of my outside private contractor work as a DJ/karaoke host.
#2. I don’t have kids. If I did, it would have changed the direction of my career…and my wife’s.
#3. Yes universal healthcare would be a safety net that would help everyone, but we have to willing to pay for it to afford it…and that’s the essence of my main point. Americans want the government safety net, but they don’t want to pay for it. This is why we have the budget deficit problem we have. As long as we keep kicking the can down the road, the problem will not get resolved and Americans are in danger of losing these programs they’ve come to rely on (without paying for). At that point, it will be every man or woman for themselves and if we’re better equipped to take control of our own destinies, we’ll be less affected by anything that happens in Washington. As we’re seeing in Maryland, if the government can grant you something…it can also take it away when the money runs out.
#4. I don’t see this as a utopian point of view. If anything, it’s anti-Utopian because I don’t view Utopia (the creation of a perfect society) as an option.
#5. I’m not sure what point I was SUPPOSED to get out of Liz’s story. I read this as an example of the decisions that some people are facing “in this economy” and that she was presented with a job opportunity that she felt she wasn’t too desperate to accept. Someone more desperate than Liz would have taken the opportunity. I think these are the kinds of decisions that more and more Americans (myself included) are facing today.
Stephan Sonn says
Keith, since you use your real name
I can’t comment as I would to Eastern Shore and Chatty Cathy
but I will say that you are honest in that you call things as you see them
even if you think that it is all about you,
There is a version of reality other than your own.
You really need to address that reality.
Keith Thompson says
Stephan, thanks…I think.
I’m fully aware that there are realities other than my own, but since I don’t have the ability to live the lives of others, I can only relate how my story fits in with the rest of the world. My biggest concern is that Americans have traded our legacy of freedom and personal responsibillty for a sense of entitlement. What happens if/when the safety net gets pulled out from other people?
Stephan Sonn says
Carla:
There are far too many angry lemmings willing to go over the cliff
to uphold their traditions.
To my mind they are a sub species
with lots of missing genes.
Stephan Sonn says
Keith when the safety net is pulled more than it has recently been Americans will have fewer choices, less freedom and an illusion machine feeding them reality as chaos
Keith Thompson says
Stephan writes, “Keith when the safety net is pulled more than it has recently been Americans will have fewer choices, less freedom and an illusion machine feeding them reality as chaos.”
You’re absolutely right as long as Americans have the attitude that the government will save them. If/when the safety net is pulled, those who chart their own destiny will survive.
Stellal says
Universal Heath care and other safety nets ….
You bet .. Through taxes.
Stephan Sonn says
The answer to that Keith is quite simple ..
The Club for Growth
and other icons
of the rave new word
will chart all that out.
Stephan Sonn says
A few comments back I typed.
Rave rave new word
I meant
Rave new world
or both
Stephan Sonn says
Keith
Which big brother do you prefer?
The present Social Democracy
or
Corporate with Tea Bag enforcer goons.
There is no absolute free will in civilization
but I do not want corporate social engineering.
Keith Thompson says
Stella writes…”Universal Heath care and other safety nets …. You bet .. Through taxes.”
Absolutely, if you’re going to have a government safety net; taxes are how you pay for them. O.K., so how do you sell a tax increase to an electorate that doesn’t want it? Universal healthcare and other safety nets are easy to sell to voters. A tax increase isn’t.
In the last couple of decades in the U.S., the policy of funding the safety net has gone from “tax and spend” to “borrow and spend”. Oddly enough as a fiscal conservative, I believe that “taxing and spending” is more responsible than “borrowing and spending”. I prefer the idea of tax cuts to reduce the size of government, but that too is hard to sell to the American people. The tax cuts in the last few decades were not accompanied by a decrease in the size of government. Actually, the size of government grew despite the tax cuts. Thus we have a federal government that is on the verge of bankruptcy and government leaders who are paralyzed to act because they’re still trying to answer to a voting public that wants two incompatible goals.
Again, the problem is that American voters want the safety net but they don’t want to pay for it. How do you change the mindset of the voters? I don’t think the mindset of the voters can change until they are forced to change. I think the American people are pretty resiliant and can figure it out when they’re forced to.
Stellal says
Tax cuts DID NOT make this country great. A symbiotic public/private relationship did. Nobody wants us to drown in dept but we need the resouces available for this nation to continue to be the country most Americans,I hope, want for the future.
According to many polls most Americans do support tax increases rather than shredding social safety nets.
Those on the radical right really are on a suicide course when even eliminating corporate loop holes for
Corporate jets is off the table.
Stephan Sonn says
It would be easy to say that the Iraq War
and the Bush tax reductions
granted to persons of great economic means
caused the revenue loss because they are indeed
the largest parts of the revenue shortfalls.
There is also something to be said about the perpetual bloat
of the Medicare drain on the federal budget..
The entire medical care delivery system
is a runaway horse driven by the quest
for a longer and better life
that creates customers and profits
like any other business.
But medical care should not be a business
expanding the federal budget
by it’s propensity to grow customers
by the actuary table
…
Europe, Canada and the rest of the world
addressed that problem
but here we fight the cure
calling it socialism.
Those of means refuse to bail out social programs
and that is where we stand.
America is becoming
downsized, one sided.and lopsided.
Now that the homogenizing process has stalled
I wonder what has risen to the top
the cream… or the scum.
Stephan Sonn says
Kieth…You really ought to listen to what Stella is saying.
She is classic New Deal not a welfare state advocate.
Capitalism is not what the tea party would have you believe.
The kind of blood letting they require is the product of people
who pay to sandblast it through the media.
They use freedom as a buzzword
and think they own the copyright.
Dogma worship of any kind takes its toll on real freedom.
If you can drop the political cliche”s you might see another version of reality.
Keith Thompson says
@Stella
Did I say that tax cuts made this country great? I don’t think so, so please go back and re-read what I posted. I stated that tax cuts mixed with an increase in the size of government is the reason why we’re in this mess. I said that I would prefer to have tax cuts that lead to a smaller government, but I also said that a tax and spend policy (think FDR’s New Deal) over a borrow and spend policy (think Reaganomics) as the lesser of two evils. Also, what does it mean that Americans polled support tax increases over losing the safety net? The way the debate is framed right now with tax increases only on the wealthy, most Americans are for a tax increase if its not THEIR taxes being increased. When you say you support a tax increase, are you talking about increasing your taxes? Have you considered giving back your refund or paying more than what the IRS is asking for? If you’re willing to increase your taxes (and not just on those more fortunate than you) to help provide that safety net, you’re being more honest than most Americans.
@Stephan
I’m trying to figure out where you get the idea that I worship at the altar of the Tea Party? I can’t stand the Tea Party mostly because they’re long on rhetoric and short on action. Are Tea Party Congress members voluntarily giving up their government healthcare plans or donating their paychecks back to the Treasury? Are Tea Party voters turning down their Social Security checks or their Medicare and Medicaid coverage? Not to mention that the Tea Party’s support of an activist pro religious public policy agenda doesn’t exactly advance the cause of the smaller, less intrusive government they preach of supporting.
I think both of you are guilty of framing the debate in left/right, liberal/conservative, Republican/Democratic dogma and are simply finding someone else to blame. I’ve stopped looking for someone to blame and have decided to look in the mirror. I’m the product of all of the mistakes I’ve made and I’m attempting to take responsibility and clean up my own mess rather than have Obama, Boehner. Reid, Bachmann, Harris, Mikulski, Cardin etc. (or in my case Coons, Carper and Carney) do it for me. To go along with that, I’m taking the time to help out others when I can…especially when I’m asked, usually by volunteering my time or my talent (or money when I’m not on a tight budget like I am right now).
Stella is absolutely right in saying that a symbiotic public/private relationship is necessary to make this country great. In order to do that we need to see government as something that protects our rights and safety as well as protecting us from fraud and to help out in time of need…especially those who can’t help themselves. We don’t need to see government as an entity that provides things that we should be providing on our own, especially if we’re able. Relying on government to be our provider reveals a sense of entitlement and that sense of entitlement is why we’re in the mess we’re in.
rcg says
oddly enough, my reaction to this is:
1 – liz – you seem to want and need a job but you do not seem desperate for a job – which makes you lucky – you do seem well-versed and witty – this was not the only job for which you have applied – you are checking what’s available and looking for a fit…kudos to you…i think it is smart to take the time to see what’s out there if you have the time and resources.
2 – liz may have taken the job had it not looked too good to be true – if an owner takes pride in his/her business, he/she will usually take care of the surroundings – for the comfort of good employees and to show the customer that that business is successful and to welcome the customer/client into a nice enviroment. the pay/benefits may have been sufficient – but would you want to take a job with a company that looks like it is barely above water if that is not the only job available?
3 – sometimes we do have to take jobs that we would rather not take – because of the need/situation…i know my experience in taking a part-time job to pay the bills until i found a better fit – it wasn’t too painful – but i knew the score.
Stephan Sonn says
Keith if you choose to be responsible for yourself and have the means and the willpower
to do it without government help then do so and tell us all how you did it.
It is not the demand for the services of social democracy that caused the massive debit. It is the inefficiencies of misapplied profit motive hitch-hiking on many of the programs that would serve better if profit were not involved.but accountability was
That is how Medicare changed from being scorned by doctors at its inception to the money cow that it is today.
If medicare suddenly became unavailable what would replace it while the middle class shrinks. What portion of the general population or aged could pay their own medical bills. Doctors were fewer and with exception, mostly in a different financial class 100 years ago when there was no real middle class or government subsidies. If Medicare were to disappear so would the number of medical practices in the US.
What makes anybody think that chopping down the tree is better than trimming it. Therein lies the disconnect. People with their own financial priorities and opportunities are not above killing someone else’s young and aged maybe even their own because they feel no generational or social responsibility.
And the tea party goons mimic that behavior,
and as you say they still expect their Social Security and Medicare in their old age.
Talk about disconnect! That is what is happening Keith.
What would you do about that?
Preach self reliance. If so get ready to perform your own brain surgery.
Bill says
“Corporate with Tea Bag enforcer goons.”
I thought this language was no longer tolerated here.
This whole thread is sad, and I can only pray that it is not reflective of the views of the majority of those who live here.
Bill
Stephan Sonn says
Bill, the fox is in the chicken coop
not even wearing a sheep’s clothing
as a wolf might.
He is quite nasty.
Would you call him a dove.
Keith Thompson says
As the guy likely responsible for getting this thread hopelessly off track (I plead guilty), a thank you to rcg to restroring some sanity.
Stephan Sonn says
Reg…
Well said and artfully balanced.
Exactly what i would have said
If I were I a better writer.
Yours is the kind of empathy and awareness
That I hoped would emerge in this forum.
Stephan Sonn says
If anything Liz in her job plight personifies all of us
in this Rave (mob social gathering) New World.
Nothing about that condition is off track.
Stephan Sonn says
Nothing said or explored about the Rave New World is off track.
Frank Gerber says
Liz,
I know It’s upsetting to see our dreams of education for our children in jeopardy (“in this economy”), but the lesson in Integrity you are teaching them, and us all through this experience, will be somthing to transcend these near term disapointments. Thanks for sharing this with us , your neighbors.
As for the other comments from thoughtful contributors, I am reminded of a passage from Jackson Browne’s “Pretender”…
…ahh the lovers square off in the night , and scream at the world with all their might, while the ships bearing their dreams sail out of sight.
Joe says
“The Tree of Liberty needs to be refreshed from time to time with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants” …Thomas Jefferson.
How close are we?
Catty One says
@Frank Gerber
This thread, and a few others, clearly need more posts from people like you…
And less from the ….well, you know……
Ya said it all, friend Frank, very eloquently with the Browne quote
Thanks!
Really, really.
Not catty.
Stephan Sonn says
Joe,
Would you be more specific.
Do you think our present condition equated
to what Jefferson said in what quote.
Who are the patriots and tyrants today?
Stephan Sonn says
Chatty Kathy
You make far too many judgement calls
from you secret mask/blog handle.
One of the traits of a good debate is
the acceptance of another persons
right to express their opinion
even if if you don’t agree.
You offer lethal contempt.
rather than humorous barbs or content
and that it what is wrong
in today’s politics and culture.
Why don’t you give it a shot
in your true name
with an Op-Ed of your own.
I for one would be interested in reading
the source material for
your alter of knowledge.
Stephan Sonn says
Frank
I had to go back to a more idealistic era
to search our the meanings of Pretender
And i got stuck on the dreams
sailing away on ships.
Fatalism was a mode in those days
so I see the pathos of the lament
But some dreams are stolen by deliberation
or by competing mantras
or just the ignorant brutality
of our fellow beings
Ships shimmering in the mist…
a way to say goodbye.
Frank Gerber says
Stephan,
you should go back and listen to the entire song, its a veritable cornicopia of imagery.
…”caught between the longing for love and th struggle for the legal tender, where the sirens sing and the church bells ring and the junkman pounds his fender. Where the veterans dream of the fight, fast asleep at the traffic light, and the children solomnly wait forthe ice cream vendor”…
“I’m going to be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender where the adds take aim at the heart and soul of the spender. And believe in the things that money can buy , although true love could have been a contender.
…Are you there , say a prayer for the pretender, he started out so young and strong , only to surrender”
Stephan Sonn says
Frank I lived that era but I must have missed the prose that came with the music.
I will make a point of finding that particular album.
Did you live the era or find it later.?
Stephan Sonn says
Frank..
.This morning I remember
the exquisite poetry
it all came back.
Thanks
Rory Rivers says
The real story here is not a national one, but a local one. Why can’t this economy –this, the upper shore economy –give an educated, talented woman gainful employment? I bet that if that company were located in the Chestertown Business park, Liz would have taken that job even though it sucks. But it’s not. It’s seventy miles away.
This is why your children are moving away, folks. So they can work for someone *else’s* bathroom supply company.
Liz, we’re the lucky ones–lucky we’ve still got you. Keep on keepin’ on, sister.
Linda Sampere says
This economy has obligated everyone to move around. Those that can afford to stay and reject any employment opportunities (if you can call them that) plus defend their dignity probably have their house paid off. Cheap labor is misunderstood as opportunities nowadays. It’s about time we call it for what it is. A real opportunity allows you to grow professionally as well as intellectually (and give you some space to be relatively content). Liz is, above all and despite the faults she found in this interview, lucky to reject the offer (should they have given her the chance to work there). It’s important to discuss openly how unfair the work conditions are. I applaud your courage to share your story with the world.