Is Anyone Else Feeling Manipulated?

The Boston Globe has a story today about the upside of being unemployed.  Well. ok, there actually is an upside–family time, personal time, etc., but wait a minute.  The people in the article state that they know they will eventually have to go back to work, but they don’t seem to be in a hurry.  Oh, so we are paying for their little mini interludes.  It used to be that you had to check in with unemployment weekly and tell them about your job search.  Have we lost that requirement somewhere (as we are extending unemployment benefits)?  Where is common sense–when unemployment benefits are extended, people wait longer to find a new job–it’s called human nature. 

The other interesting part of this story is its spin on unemployment.  When George Bush was President, 6 per cent unemployment was the end of the world.  People didn’t have enough money to feed their dogs and cats.  Now with Barack Obama as President and the unemployment rate climbing (it’s still not near what it was under Jimmy Carter), there are joys of unemployment.  I’m definitely feeling manipulated.