Robert Kahne: The Politics of Unemployment

I was never a kid to dream big. I never wanted to be an astronaut, or the President, or a rock star or anything. When I was young, I thought it would be nice to be an engineer like my grandfather, because he always had enough money to provide for his family and always seemed happy. When I got to high school, I realized that math was hard, and that I was really much more interested in social studies. I went to college and got a couple of degrees (BA, Economics; BA, Political Science), and then went straight to graduate school and got a Masters degree in Public Policy. I thought that if I followed my passions and worked hard in school, some firm out there would find my credentials appealing and hire me. Even when the economy went south in 2009, I thought that getting an advanced degree would help me out, and that I had worked hard enough and done enough of the right things to find a job somewhere. That hasn’t turned out so well for me.

There is this theme that runs through American mythology that goes something like this — “If you are willing to work, you will find a job in America.” There are several corollaries to this idea–sometimes “work” means “work yourself through college” or “get involved in extra curricular activities” or, in the most cynical iteration “Nothing is promised to you in this world, you have to go out and take it for yourself.” I am not so sure if any of that is true. It might have been at one time, but I cannot look out into the world in which I live and say that anyone can do that. I only have myself as an example, but I am utterly willing to work. Job I have done for money include: making pizza (4 years), hauling recyclable refuse (which was gross-2 years), waiting tables (1 year), and working in a pharmacy clinic (one summer). In addition to that, I stated in school in 1990, at Middletown Methodist Preschool.

I did this 3 times.

I’ve been in school for 20 years straight, and throughout that whole time I’ve worked hard and gotten the grades I needed to advance. I got good grades in elementary school to get into a good middle school, did well enough at that middle school to get into the best high school in my city, and then got into my state’s flagship public institution where I did well enough to get into a top-10 graduate school for my field. Furthermore, I have been active in good causes my whole life. I was the President of clubs in high school and undergraduate. I was selected to serve on a Presidential Advisory Committee in graduate school. I worked to get a student fee passed for sustainability throughout college, and served on the committee which spent that money while I was in school. I even teach Sunday School every other week. I did a lot of stuff–a lot of stuff which I thought would help me out when it came time to make my own living. I really believed in the idea that working hard would mean I could get a job. I even had some assurance that if need be, I had the skills to “take” my lot for myself. Nope.

I know that I am whining, and that whining doesn’t help anything. I’m sorry about my tone, but there is a reason I am telling this story. I am very frustrated by this process, and I hope that all the employed people reading this have the chance to glimpse the life of someone without a job. One of the things I am always struck by when I speak to someone about my unemployment is how little they understand about what being unemployed is like. I’ve had lot of people tell me to “keep my head up” or that “things will turn around soon” or who have offered me advice about how to talk to employers or how to reformat my resume or how to find the best kind of jobs for which to apply. The thing about all that advice is–my generation grew up knowing all these things. Job seeking, resume writing, and networking are all skills I have learned in school from far back. I’ve been doing them to the best of my ability since the beginning of this process, but they haven’t really helped. The worst is when people tell me that I shouldn’t worry–I am very worried, and I have good reason to worry. I am 24 years old and I cannot provide for myself. I depend on my loved ones for my basic needs. Although I am extremely grateful and thankful for them, it is a very emasculating thing to be in the exact same position at the age of 24 as I was when I was a baby.

I am also worried about my long term health. I am the type of person that can weather any sort of storm, as long as I know what lays on the other side. Right now my life is full of uncertainty. I know that it is likely I will eventually find a job somewhere, but I have no idea where, or when, or what it will be. As I said in the beginning of this post, I was never someone with big dreams–but I had small dreams. I want a family. I want my own place to live. I even want to pay taxes! (or at least make enough money to have to pay taxes). Even smaller things: I want to be able to treat my parents to dinner on their birthdays. I want to own a piano. I want to be able to pay my own cell phone bill. Every single one of these dreams–and many more- are on hold right now. I have always considered myself an optimist–I get involved in causes in order to make a difference. But I see that facet of my personality slowly eroding. I found myself advising a college freshman the other day to not get involved in any clubs or activities, because they don’t matter. After the conversation was over, I couldn’t believe I had said that. That’s not the person I have been–but I fear it is the person I am becoming. I find myself losing interest in activities I used to love–even though I have plenty of time to ride my bicycle or read or listen to new music, I find myself doing those things less and less. Even though I used to love meeting new people and making new friends, I spend most of my time alone. I am embarrassed to tell people I don’t have a job. I don’t ask girls out on dates anymore bother because I am ashamed to tell them I have no job, and because I can’t afford it.

Image from Calculated Risk showing the unemployment rate compared to other recessions

Its almost as if the culture has forgotten the unemployed, also. I recently saw this trailer for Sarah Jessica Parker’s new film I Don’t Know How She Does It and couldn’t help thinking “Geez, I am so sorry that you are so busy balancing your high paying job with your family and stuff, but if you want to trade, feel free.” How does this movie even get made in this environment? Do the producers not see how that whole concept is just insulting? The government has talked about making a “pivot to jobs”, but seriously–unemployment has been above 9% for more than 2 years. Why did we ever pivot AWAY from jobs? I have been trying to use LinkedIn in order to find a job, and recently found this discussion. Essentially, it says “good help is hard to find anymore.” It made me want to pull my hair out. One commenter even went so far as to say “Lots of people looking for employment, not many people looking for work.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that.

On some level, I hope that once I get a job, that I will have a greater appreciation for life and work. I really hope it is the case. I know I sound really depressed, but I try very hard to keep my head up and to be resolved to face every day as though it will be the day I get another interview, or the day I fill out the application which becomes the job I have in the future. I try not to despair, but there is a unique kind of torture in being trained about what causes and fixes unemployment, and being myself unemployed. If you have read this post, I want to ensure you come away from it with one fact–unemployment is a cancer on our society. The longer someone is unemployed, the less employable they become. Skills dull, demeanor’s sour, and hearts become depressed. And unemployment is bad for all of us–when people don’t work, our GDP stays low and our money gets weak. Also, unemployment is taking a significant psychological toll on people. So, start caring about this stuff. Please, I beg of you.

And also, if you are hiring, and have a place for a 24 year old guy with a Masters in Public Policy with skills in econometrics, statistics, computing, and/or interpersonal relations, please contact me. I’d love to talk to you.