Christina Maki

Unemployment

We all know the economy’s in the crapper right now. Everyone’s asking for bailouts: banks, major auto companies, and even the porn industry. While Congress debates who’s going to get free money, those of us who have been most affected by the recession are left to wonder who’s thinking of us.

Unemployment rates have skyrocketed. More and more people are searching for jobs which are becoming increasingly more scarce, and thousands of people in Kansas City alone have been forced to file for unemployment insurance just to pay bills and keep food on the table.

Unemployment offices are experiencing problems dealing with the steadily increasing numbers. I found this out myself last month when I tried to contact the Kansas Deptartment of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance division in order to get information on my claim status. In December, I filed for an extension on my benefits, which were about to run dry. When the money still hadn’t shown up two weeks later, I called to check on my application. I got a busy signal. I tried again an hour or so later. Busy again.

This went on for three weeks, and I never actually got through to anyone. I tried every office I could find a number for: Kansas City, Topeka, Wichita. I even entertained finding a public TDD telephone at the airport and calling their hearing impaired line. I called the Department of Labor directly, where my name was taken and I was told I’d be called back in a week.

I did manage to get through to the automated line a couple of times, where I input my social security number and PIN, only to be put on hold for 45 minutes and then told that the office was too busy and I should call back later. Then the system promptly hung up on me.

Jay Leno made a funny remark on his show last night, and I said something similar to my mom last week when we were talking about the situation. If unemployment offices need to hire more people… um, hello? They have a list of thousands of people who are looking for jobs! Start calling people to come in and interview. There is absolutely no reason for people to have to deal with this kind of stress on top of looking for a job and wondering how they’re going to make ends meet in the meantime. Additionally, there should be some other way to contact the UI offices, other than the ever-busy phone lines. Have a team set up to answer e-mails.

For that matter, the Departments of Labor ought to be involved in social media. They should be looking at the Twitter stream and running Google Alerts and blog searches in order to find people who are seeking answers, and meet them at their point of need.

Epic fail.

Those Nazi Kids

So remember that story a couple of weeks ago about the couple in New Jersey who were all pissed that the local grocery store wouldn’t print “Happy Birthday, Adolf Hitler” on their son’s birthday cake? Well, apparently, little Adolf Hitler Campbell and his sisters JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell are now in state custody after being removed from their parents’ care last week.

According to the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, the children were not removed from the home because of their names, although they certainly should have been. This is a perfect example of why I think we need to start testing people’s ability to function as parents before they’re allowed to procreate. (And no, Britney would NOT have made the cut.)

The father of the three supremacists-in-training stated that he gave the children these, erm… “unique” names because they were original, and as a way to honor his heritage.

‘Scuse me, please, but I’m half German, and I certainly don’t plan to name any of my children “Auschwitz Arbeit-Macht-Frei Maki.”

The Division of Youth and Family Services wouldn’t comment on the reason for taking custody of the children, but the police did state that there was no evidence of abuse or neglect. Makes you wonder what exactly is going on there, doesn’t it? The couple is scheduled to appear in court for a custody hearing next week.