Being Socially Responsible

US Labor Department recent stats on unemployment rates yield rising numbers to 8.5 percent in March, the highest in 25 years. Highest in more then two decades mean Generation Y, largest workforce since the boomers, has never felt a strain like this. Boomers have felt it, but 25 years ago, some of them where just starting out their careers. Vastly different from today, when the crunch is felt closer to the anticipated day of retirement.

Our country is potentially paying out unemployment benefits to almost 10% of the nation. If that isn’t chilling, let’s talk about how taxes are rising regardless of falling home prices, increase of tax of cigarettes (but that’s not going to unemployment), and all the small businesses who pay into FUTA while struggling to stay afloat.

How are we going to pay for all this?

I started to think of all the people I know who are collecting and not collecting unemployment. I have never collected unemployment, though at periods I was eligible. The reason I did not choose to collect unemployment was because I had sufficient sources elsewhere to cover my living expenses. I didn’t need unemployment, thus, why take it?

I understand most people feel they have a right to collect unemployment whether or not they really need it. To me, that is a question of being socially responsible. For instance, I have a relative who has lost her part time job and is collecting unemployment because she feels it’s her right. The truth is, her income has never made a substantial impact on the household. In fact, her spouse makes over $120,000 per year. What does she need unemployment for? Cigarettes.

This is where I feel people should stop saying “I deserve” and ask themselves what do they NEED. I have no problem supporting the family whose laid off from GM, or helping out underprivileged kids. I do have a problem with paying out unemployment for someone to be able to support their spending habits, whether it’s nicotine, a Wii, or iPhone.

When our country is hurting as a whole, it’s time we step up to the plate and ask ourselves if we really need to take government aid. It is not my naivety, only my hope in humanity, when I elect not to take unemployment, it will ease the burden for us all. Not in mass, but a small tiny fraction.

It’s the sense of being a part of something that is more then just you. Understanding your actions or lack there of, small and big, make a rippling effect in another’s life. You could sit there and make excuses to justify ignoring the community and only focus on your immediate survival. Eventually, what you hand out, is handed back to you.