Face of America’s Unemployment Crisis
EmailAcross America, families are looking for jobs and small businesses are struggling to keep hard-working employees on the payroll. On Friday’s broadcast we’ll bring a face to the unemployment crisis in America. Here’s a snapshot. ABC News’ Mary-Rose Abraham reports from Issaquah, Washington: Former Microsoft employees Lori Campbell and Rick Hirst were living comfortably on their combined $170,000 salary. But after Lori’s contract with Microsoft ended in September and Rick was laid off in January, the family has entered "recession mode." As Rick heads back from a job interview in the city, Lori cooks dinner. Tonight’s menu for the family of six is macaroni and cheese, fresh-cooked broccoli and carrot sticks. The children — 7-year-old Helena, 9-year-old Chris, 12-year-old Ben and 15-year-old Matt — were busy with homework before they sat down for dinner. Lori looks around at the cozy table. "We didn’t get a new kitchen table. We didn’t get new couches." One of the kids cuts in: "You didn’t get new us." They all laugh. The three boys’ bedroom was converted from an office and is stacked with bunk beds. A family of six in a two-bedroom, two-bath condo is tight. But this will be home for a while. Rick estimates they are $30,000 underwater on the condo. "Even if we both got jobs tomorrow, we wouldn’t be looking for a house," he says. "We wouldn’t overextend ourselves like that." To stay on budget, the family stocks up on most of their groceries at a warehouse store. The six of them go through nearly a gallon of milk in a day. Sandwiches for the entire family polish off an entire loaf of bread. Later this week, a trip to Costco will also be a chance to enjoy a rare meal outside the house, at the food court. "For under $15," says Lori, "we can feed the whole family on hot dogs and pizza." Rick adds, "If we went to McDonald’s, it would easily be about $30 for everyone." Stay tuned for more on the family…
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Obama is throwing lascivious party’s on the tax payers dime while millions lose their job every day.
But the media cared more about how much the dress cost Sarah Palin wore.
Posted by: scatter | March 5, 2009, 7:41 pm 7:41 pm
Rick Santelli and his Wall Street friends think that these people are “losers”. Santelli is trying to convince all of us that we should not try to help people like them stay in their homes.
So what if they lost their jobs through no fault of their own; they should have planned for that. I guess he and his GOP dittoheads also think that they had more kids than they could afford to take care of. Oh yeah, and they better not get sick and require healthcare because Rep. Wamp says that healthcare is a “priviledge” and people like this family should suffer and die.
What Compassion
Posted by: Just saying | March 5, 2009, 7:50 pm 7:50 pm
Just saying – We are going to get a lot poorer and there is nothing Obama can do about it. If you need help understanding why listen to Ron Paul. Ultimately, people will have to become self reliant once again.
Posted by: Huh | March 5, 2009, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
You get what you vote for, I hope you ignorant people are happy now..
Posted by: Joe | March 5, 2009, 8:28 pm 8:28 pm
You get what you vote for, I hope you ignorant people are happy now..
Posted by: Joe | Mar 5, 2009 8:28:59 PM
**************
And like the country would have been better off with McCain and the Republican Party!!!
Posted by: sisterdearest09 | March 5, 2009, 9:05 pm 9:05 pm
sisterdearest09
Neither of them would have been any good.
The two party system if a fraud
They all need to go…
Posted by: Joe | March 5, 2009, 9:17 pm 9:17 pm
Obama is throwing lascivious party’s on the tax payers dime while millions lose their job every day.
Posted by: scatter | Mar 5, 2009 7:41:38 PM
***************
People was losing their jobs long before President Obama arrived on the scene!!!!!!
Posted by: sisterdearest09 | March 5, 2009, 9:20 pm 9:20 pm
Hey Joe!
We need to get rid of the ole timers and put some young, new blood in Congress!!!
Also, we need to limit their term!!!!
Posted by: sisterdearest09 | March 5, 2009, 9:24 pm 9:24 pm
Today’s youth are stupid. If they have were home schooled and have at least one kid I’d give them one chance
Posted by: Joe | March 5, 2009, 10:14 pm 10:14 pm
What happened to America comes down to two things: the greedy and the gullible.
These two characteristics know no particular party. That’s your first wrong assumption.
Second wrong assumption: it knows no age. Greedy and gullible (I stop short of saying stupid) come in many forms.
This is what we know: it took a colossal village (all of us) to come to this point. It took decades to make this mess we’re in. This even goes beyond the Bush years.
Reorganization (with much sacrifice) is the best route to go. Otherwise, it all becomes a bottomless pit.
We cannot outspend this. Don’t kid yourself.
Posted by: goosed | March 6, 2009, 1:56 am 1:56 am
I listened on the radio to some of the presentations at the White House summit on health care. The variety of perspectives and suggestions was impressive. To hammer all that out into a set of proposals acceptable to a majority in Congress will require compromise. One hopes that whatever eventually emerges proves accceptable to a majority of Americans. With a new, possibly radically realigned health care program, there will be significant teething problems in the early years.
Posted by: Candadai Tirumalai | March 6, 2009, 10:00 am 10:00 am
Sorry. My comment was meant for Clem’s Chronicles.
Posted by: Candadai Tirumalai | March 6, 2009, 10:04 am 10:04 am
The family in Seattle is an example of doing what you have to do to get by. After doing everything right, they still find themselves facing tough times. The Obama package has already helped them and will continue to do so until new jobs are found.
The Republican’s love of trickle down policies have created this mess. Currently only the wealthy are not feeling the economic pain faced by the peasants. This “let them eat cake” attitude has bought us to this state, and has no real plan to bring us back. To all the Ditto heads out there, just cool it. Bush had eight years to destroy this country, and you are all howling after less than two
months.
At this point, I am very proud of my daughter and family in Seattle, and I trust my president to make things better for all of us.
Posted by: Martha campbell | March 6, 2009, 12:33 pm 12:33 pm
I am 51 yrs old, and have worked in the real estate development – construction management fields all of my life (starting @ 14 parttime during summer vacation) and have worked for a total of 4 months out of the last 22. I have never received any government assistance and don’t expect any now, being a white male, i do not qualify for much of anything except paying my taxes every year.
If people don’t start “getting it” that this recession/depression/ downturn – whatever you want to call it, IS ALL ABOUT JOBS, we may as well all start heading either north or south because there isn’t going to be much left here for ANYONE, rich or poor.
Posted by: Darryl the Contractor | March 6, 2009, 4:35 pm 4:35 pm
These two seem like they have been trying to do things right: two good jobs, no large credit card debt, small condo in the town where they work. How many of you would pack six people into a two bedroom condo BEFORE you got into financial trouble?
If they are as sane and sensible in their work as they are before and during a financial crisis, then they might just be good hires. Someone hire these guys to do whatever it is they are good at before your competition picks them up!
Posted by: Ben of Seattle | March 6, 2009, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
There is much I could say about the politics that have so adversely affected Lori and her family. But I’d primarily like to say how courageous she and her family are to open themselves to the media and thus the public so that we can understand how regular families are coping with an extraordinarily difficult situation. 4 kids and no jobs!! Again, we see that creating jobs is critical, for this family and millions of others, and I”m pleased that our president understands that. Someone, hire these fine folks!
Posted by: Sarah Jackson | March 7, 2009, 10:00 am 10:00 am
scatter,
This is not Obama’s fault.
Blame Bush if you must blame anyone, but I know you will not because you probably voted for him TWICE.
Posted by: jeff | March 8, 2009, 8:13 am 8:13 am
I agree with Sarah–
This problem came when Bush was in office– Obama inherited the crises
Posted by: Moneymonk.net | March 24, 2009, 1:15 pm 1:15 pm
With millions of Americans unemployed our government still preaches:
a) free trade – first it has to be fair trade,some of our agreements with the world trade organization has put us in a disadvantage
b) Guest workers – there are no skills shortage. Americans are being replaced by Cheap Labor using the H1b and L1 visas – another problem caused by WTO GAT 3
Now Obama is siding with Companies that jobs being outsourced are low paying jobs. Bring back manufacturing to America.
Posted by: debug | March 27, 2009, 4:57 am 4:57 am
it’s okay obama i still love you… okay first of all obama just became president five momths ago… give the guy some time.
Posted by: lora martenez | May 4, 2009, 12:13 pm 12:13 pm
first i think what is happening in our country is tragic, but I believe that everyone should be accountable not just our elected leaders.
second this country should consider building a new econimy rather that fixing this one.
Posted by: rony | September 28, 2009, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
jesus is coming soon.
Posted by: kim mealey | January 26, 2010, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm
While we support trade on fair and equitable basis and I would add with free nations Unfortunally what we continue to see is the way a Nation treats its own People is how it will treat other Nations and when you look at some of the practices engaged in the domestic policies of nations that are our trading partners that the average American would fine repugnant. The average American would fine as antithetical to the concept of Human liberty coming from a creator rather than a central Government. I think you can understand why the United States has employers like Wes Smith and others in this Country that try and provide a humane and decent job for their workers so they can pursue their happiness. Why we are at a distinct disadvantage is because we are a good and decent Country. When competing or trading with other nations that have no regard for the rights of their People except as pawns in the political game or to be used in a strategy to De industrialize the United States. This is a problem, and until we can re industrialize this Country we will continue to have job loss and separation of the classes.
Posted by: Mr. Nelson | March 3, 2010, 3:58 pm 3:58 pm