June 17, 2011 6:40 AM

You know, it wasn't supposed to be this way...was it?

Three years ago next week, I was laid off from my full-time job, just as the recession was kicking in. As a middle-aged man with enough career experience to earn an above-average salary, I was immediately a less-desirable candidate for rehire in a downwardly-trending job market. My unemployment benefits ran out not quite a year ago. Three years out of the job market, even closer to the age of 50, with a skillset that is now very stale in the rapidly-changing world of IT, the aforementioned institutional prejudice against the long-term unemployed, and the looming threat of a double-dip economic disaster, it looks highly unlikely that I might ever return to “normal” employment…. Having already lost our house and gone bankrupt back in 2008, we live on the precipice of complete disaster; there is nowhere to go but into the street if the slightest thing disrupts our tenuous hold on security. If you wonder why I seem angry or bitter sometimes, it is from complete powerlessness and hopelessness. And I am only one of MILLIONS of people in this country in the exact same position.

No, I didn’t write those words…but I could have, many times over the past 16 months. No, they were actually written by Brian Kane, who, once upon a time in a land far, far away, first set up my blog (when it was still The People’s Republic of Seabrook) in Movable Type. He’s in Boston, and I’m in Portland, so we’ve never actually met, but we have a history that goes back awhile.

Though we’ve never laid eyes on one another, I’ve always been a big fan of Brian and his blog. He’s been able to strike a balance between how he writes about his personal life and some of the truly fascinating topics he shares. It’s a balance I’ve been somewhat less successful at striking, but we have different approaches to what we do, so it’s all good.

Our lives are very different in many respects, but the one thing we do share is our current (lack of) employment situation. Both of us are capable, intelligent, and experienced middle-aged males…and therein lies our problem. This country is on the verge of losing an entire generation- our generation- and it’s difficult to feel as if one really gives a damn. No one in Washington certainly does. Republicans and Democrats are so busy engaging in various and assorted acts of political self-gratification that they simply lack the time, energy, and wherewithal to do what they were elected to do. An entire generation is at risk of slipping into irrelevance while politicos in Washington engage in what can only be described as political masturbation (see Weiner, Anthony).

If you think I’m being melodramatic, yesterday we were treated to the spectacle of Mitt Romney (he of the $200 million net worth) looking for sympathy because he’s unemployed, too. THAT is what passes for seriousness when it comes to dealing with the very real problem of chronic, long-term unemployment. Politicians will cry crocodile tears and claim to be outraged that Barack Obama hasn’t fixed the economy yet…all while they funnel tax breaks to the upper 2% and tax increases to the middle class and the poor.

Brian, and the millions of people just like him (and me) want only to be able to work, to do what they’ve always done to support themselves and their families. People our age have worked for 20, 25, 30 years…or more…and yet now the job market treats us collectively as obsolete and devoid of value. We’re trying to figure something- anything- out in order that we might be able to earn an income. I find myself wondering if, a few month down the road, I might find myself living in my car. At least it’s paid for.

I’m not going to whine about my situation, though there are times when the temptation to do just that is strong. All I want to know is when my generation became expendable, and why no one in Washington seems to have taken notice? We’re not asking for much, really; just an opportunity to be able to do what we’ve done for so long- work, earn a paycheck, and support our families. Is that too much to hope for?

THIS is the American Dream??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 17, 2011 6:40 AM.

How much do Republicans hate Americans? This much. was the previous entry in this blog.

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