The Speaker Spoke and Wrath Ensued

There are times when silence is golden. Then again, there are other times when unpleasant truth must be spoken; the chips must fall where they will.
Smoking a good cigar used to afford ample opportunities to keep my mouth shut. Otherwise, I might have crossed the line and offered an unwelcome comment that would have unraveled into a nasty argument. I quit smoking when cigar prices went through the roof. It was probably better for my lungs, but not necessarily for my mental health. A good cigar is, after all’s said, a smoke.
I had to think the same of House Speaker John Boehner recently. His utterance about the unemployed brought all sorts of nasty accusations, the man spoke truth. That courtroom scene from the 1992 movie “A Few Good Men,” flashed before me:
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I’m entitled to.
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Col. Jessep: You can’t handle the truth!
The good House Speaker had the nerve to vocalize an opinion many employers espouse (but dare not speak as did Boehner) about some who have gotten unemployment checks for too long. They don’t want to work. They’ve broken the habit, and it’s a real chore to reinvent that groove. Habits are darned hard to break, work or otherwise.
The Christian Science Monitor reported Sept. 22 on Boehner’s talk on how to address poverty, as promoted by Rep. Paul Ryan. “I think this idea that’s been born over last…couple of years that, ‘You know, I really don’t have to work, I don’t really want to do this, I think I’d just rather sit around,’ this is a very sick idea for our country.” One can only imagine the teeth gnashing that immediately followed.
My wife recently relocated the coffee filters and coffee canister to put a supply of baby food in a kitchen cabinet. (For our new granddaughter.) I know she put them in a new place. I have used them in the new place yet, when I go to make coffee, I am staring at baby food and colorful bowls. Then, I curse myself for being forgetful and walk over to the new location. Why? Because it’s a habit, movements etched into the brain that probably will take another few weeks to eradicate.
It’s a lot like getting an unemployment check. I did it for five weeks many moons ago. Other than having an utter disgust for getting those checks for not working, it was easy money. I was actively seeking a job, because I knew any longer on unemployment would have changed my work ethic forever, and probably have gotten me kicked out of the house. Not everyone is guided by the same motivation.
Honestly, haven’t we all heard good people we know say something like, “Why should I get a job? I can make more on unemployment.” Maybe Boehner heard those same sentiments when he was back home in the district, and they stuck in his memory.
After a while, there is a subtle change that overcomes the soul on unemployment. No need to set the alarm to wake up to go to work, just wake up whenever you are done sleeping. Time doesn’t mean what it did when there was a job, a time clock to punch, and a boss who might scowl if you crept in 15 minutes late. Today’s unemployment checks are directly deposited, unlike those early times when we had to physically go to the Wildwood office, stand in line, say we were looking for work, then telling our counselor where we’d been. Now the money simply appears, until, of course, it runs out. Then angst overtakes one’s being.
Then it’s time to start a “for real” job search, time again to set the alarm clock, perhaps catch the 7:30 a.m. bus, what a sea change it can be. So maybe Boehner’s remark wasn’t so far off target as the bleeding hearts might want to make it.
Having to show up on time for a job is a hassle, unless you truly enjoy your work. Talking with Dr. Mitchell Levy, dean of Atlantic Cape Community College’s Court House campus was enjoyable, because he, too, likes what he does. To him, being in the college world, surrounded with students and faculty, is life itself. His life is something like the old Navy recruiting motto, “It’s not a job, it’s an adventure.” That’s the only way to look at employment. Unfortunately for many, that’s not happening. They simply work for money, not for a goal or achievement, not to help others, not to “leave the wood pile a little higher than when they started,” but just for a lousy paycheck. Once you’re doing that, and I’ve done that, too, it is time for a change.
I puzzle as I drive around the county and see help-wanted signs. In such a tight market, it’s odd they last out the day, some linger. Some are, admittedly, not the highest paying jobs around, but they are jobs.
My philosophy: it’s better to work than not work. Who knows? Flipping burgers or wrapping hoagies might put someone in touch with an employer who wants an eager employee. If they were home watching daytime TV shows (that alone would be enough to make me want to get a job cleaning barns or shoveling ice on the docks) they might not meet that person who holds the key to a brighter future.
No show of hands, but honestly, have you heard anyone state that it wasn’t worth their time to work because they could get more on unemployment? If you could hire anyone, would you hire that person?