Category Archives: Over 50 and Unemployed

Jump in Homelessness for Older Women : One Story

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

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Nouveau Poor

A sympathetic friend of mine shared this item on Facebook, and I’m probably the one person she knows with whom it resonates the loudest.  It comes from Vox, and features a guest columnist named CeliaSue Hecht.

CeliaSue is actually “over the wall” as she reached the age where Social Security checks are there for her.  But that’s about all.  She is in a region where I think it may be a pretty price to rent, and so is the area where I have made a home of some kind for over 30 years.  I am not old enough for any SSI checks, not disabled, no kids–no criteria for which an exception can be made to help me much out of the “nouveau poor” status that I have share with CeliaSue.

Some people offer the cavalier advice of “move where the jobs are”.  Move?  If you have a busted down car (or very nearly one), no regular income (just what dribbles in from freelance work), and reliant on people giving a rat’s ass about you (well, my phrase for having a support network), how the hell are you able to move around the country?  Can’t afford to leave, can’t afford to stay.

Dodging Bullets

I have been able to dodge some of the worst so far, with a housing solution that combines a spot with a longtime friend when I am not house and cat-sitting for others.  Maybe I’m not so much un-homed or un-housed like Hecht, but I just mentioned to someone recalling that the Duke of Edinburgh used to be shipped around as a youngster while his parents were exiled from their home in Greece, and he was known to sign the visitor’s book set out by his hosts with information that read something like “Philip, Of No Fixed Abode” (I actually found internet references like this one).  That’s what I am tempted to say when people ask me where I live.  I have dodged a number of long time friends, I am just too exhausted.  Let me sum it up this way:

Out of Money bumper sticker

I’ve interviewed for a few jobs in some of the more fertile employment markets that are more likely to feature the kind of jobs I am suited for yet nothing sticks.  In addition to being gray-haired, creakier and slower moving, and somewhat pale in my overall character, I am not helped by ancient clothes that offer more in comfort than in style.  My best walking sneakers that didn’t aggravate my heel spurs and plantar fasciitis are nearly worn through.  I didn’t deliberately choose to require costlier footwear (inherited my father’s horrible feet, I suspect), it is just a fact.  But I can also do so many different types of tasks and excel at using my intellectual gifts, why do I need to rely solely on looks?  Oh yeah, I’m a girl.  My value is tied up on how tasty I can be as eye-candy.

 

I got hit by one vicious bullet: the loss of my two cats who I believe have been re-homed via a super rescue service, but in my world, they were what kept me in better fighting form.  It was a risk to leave an unsavory situation I was in about 16 months ago, but I honestly, like CeliaSue, could not see staying in a housing situation where my sanity + my cats’ safety would be under continuous assault.  It was a different type of abuse, more psychological and financial on the one hand, physical danger from 4 out of control dogs and an Alzheimer’s patient on the other.  So I jumped to miss one bullet, and shortly afterwards I took a direct hit where the pain still comes back in searing hot tears and loneliness.

FDR: “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished”

Approximately 80 years ago, this man rallied a nation to do better.  While it isn’t as bad today, CeliaSue provides a embedded link to HUD data with her own words that the over 50 demographic make up 1/3 of the homeless population of America:

Elderly homelessness is on the rise. A combination of slow economic recovery from the recession and an aging baby boomer population has contributed to the rise of the 51 and older homeless population. The percentage has spiked by almost 10 points since 2007 — in 2014, the 51-and-older group represented nearly a third of the national homeless population.  –CeliaSue Hecht, as told to Karen Turner at Vox.com

A major component of The New Deal targeted keeping the older American out of poverty, something that was common in the early part of the 20th century amid another Gilded Age of economic inequality with a vast gulf between a small group of oligarchs and the rest of America.  Will we be able to see our own era give rise to a new FDR that can demand human dignity for the majority and shame the 1% in backing off with their rapacious greed.

And will that person come in time for many of us?

Older Women and Age Bias in Hiring

11 Sunday Sep 2016

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A while back, an article in an online site for mature Americans, Nextavenue.org, as we euphemistically call ourselves, published a resonating piece that was shared on Facebook, and that one can view here.  I posted some of my thoughts on this, and I also offer a smattering of other inputs from other women who felt this hit too close to home.

Donna D. Immediately I think of three single over 55 women I know…in this situation…it is real…and really ugly…and the “find-a-job-online” filtering system of today hasn’t done a thing but chip away at their once-strong, now waning, self esteem.

For all the upbeat talk about self-esteem, via the feeble memes that cross your Facebook feed on a daily basis, when you tell someone that you are faltering at keeping up appearances, they somehow don’t connect how much of that self-esteem is about being a financially viable adult.

Lori P. This is a very real, very sad, economic plight visited more and more upon women aged 55 and older. Our society has just turned and looked away from this problem. We are not responding to it properly. We must remember the financial collapse of 2009 hit especially hard upon this age group of women.

When I met Representative David Cicilline (RI) at a senior citizens open house, I told him I really wasn’t the target audience for his event apart from the fact that I am apparently considered elderly from an employment perspective.  He got it.  He told me, “Your demographic has been hit the worst, particularly after the financial meltdown.”  Still, politicians who ‘get it’ aren’t really getting the job done apart from empathy and speaking to the problem.

Debi H. Appalled that there are so many of us out here. No one wants to hire us or they will hire us for a third of what we used to make. Social Security if you take it at 62 may not be enough to live on. You learn the many ways to cook ramen.

The saddest story I ever heard about college students blowing their monthly allowance too soon in the month was having to eat Cheerios (TM) with water.  Bleah.

Betsy M. I agree about not hiding – telling our stories can be incredibly powerful. However, I think it should go beyond telling a friend because that is how we bring about change. This is happening to a lot of us, disproportionately to women, and should not be a “phase” of our lives. No one should expect to live in poverty in the United States.

Hence I am posting a lot more on this blog to collect these stories and to get them shared.

Jackie L. I think this is the most authentic thing I have read on Facebook today. I am 62, in a horrendous job that I used to love. I am known for my skills and am now under the thumb of an under educated, mean 25 year old who is my supervisor. I am living on a thread, have no retirement due to a mentally ill ex-husband who squandered money and put us into debt. I am weary from trying to find new work- they simply do not hire you.

The exhaustion rivals those of working mothers who are expected to do it all.

Jennifer H. And so what happens is women who are highly educated, experienced, professional, have raised children, and managed a household turn to jobs in retail or fast food when they are 58.

Retail is highly demanding and can be stressful if you are not a natural in small talk or patience.

Tessandra O. I don’t know what’s the hardest, not being able to get decent medical care now that I’m on state healthcare, or all the friends I’ve lost because I can no longer go out and do things that take any money. Also, who wants to chat with someone who hasn’t had any happy news in such a long time. At least I’ve made friends with the homeless guy who sleeps in my carport so if I lose this place, I have someone to hang out with.

This is a “WOW”. Building alliances with the homeless so you have a community nonetheless.  I am not quite where Tessandra is however I have avoided friends I knew years ago because I really have no great news and am tired of explaining where I’ve been for the past few years.

Julia C. Sobering look at the reality of so many women. how are we to support them in a society that is so focused on how young you are and not what you can contribute? All anyone needs is a chance. Not a man to pay for everything or an inheritance. If you are not in this position. be gracious if someone isn’t keeping up with the invitations. It maybe because they are “faking normal”.

The greatest tragedy is that with so many invisible people with talent, the real economy of every day life (as opposed to the unreal Wall Street version of buying and selling and doing stock market deals) will continue to shrink.  Ultimately, you’d think it would have to bring down the entire works, so few people who truly spend won’t be buying the goods and services that will keep even Wal-Mart and other big business afloat.

Isn’t this just all a bunch of anecdotal moaning?

Well, yes and no.  PBS did a piece back at the beginning of the year, January 2016, about the perceived bias in hiring older women and how it could be verified through quantifiable research.  University of California-Irvine economist, David Neumark was interviewed and described a twist on a racial discrimination analysis, using gender and age instead.  The proof came that there is some form of discrimination, whether it was intended or subconscious, against any female candidates who sounded older than other candidates, male or female.

I have even contemplated that I could be discriminated against because of my first name, Carol.  It was popular in the the 1940s through to the early 1960s, and then it fell off a cliff, so to speak. (Social Security data can track the popularity of names for children who are recorded as “live births”).  This website, BabyNamesHub, pulls together SSA data to help people consider baby names, which disclosed that “Carol” is most often associated with women in their 70s; I’m just shy of 60.  So it just doesn’t come across as a young-sounding name (it’s worse in the UK, no baby girls were named “Carol” in 2014).

For more painful reading for us over 50 and female, PBS had a companion piece for this article.  Somehow, women who take time off to be re-productively active (having babies) are penalized for coming back to the workplace twice–missing out on the best earning years plus, now that they are no longer able to reproduce, there seems to be a view that biologically sterile translates into being useless in other realms.

Can’t catch a break.

Universal Basic Income : an Idea Whose Time Must Come?

10 Saturday Sep 2016

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On May 11, 2016, Robert Reich posted this on Facebook:

“Last week I delivered a lecture in Switzerland on why Switzerland needs a universal basic income (the Swiss are voting on it very soon). The logic is the same for the United States: New technologies will replace so many jobs that we will need a universal, minimum basic income in order to provide everyone at least subsistence earnings, as well as maintain enough aggregate demand to keep the economy moving forward. I don’t expect any progress on this here within the next decade, but I think it’s inevitable.”

And what followed was a significant response from those of us over 50 who have struggled to find work in a job market that values youth and cheap over maturity and skill.  Here is an edited sampling, from all over the U.S., starting with my own:

Carol Murchie It is the nightmare of being a “donut hole”. I got let go in 1997 just shy of my 40th birthday after reaching a decent income. All subsequent work kept getting less and less money. I’ve gone the freelancer route in the past few years, but as the middle class small and moderate sized businesses have gotten squeezed, they don’t always have the money. Have had one seasonal retail job in four years since last full-time work. Only 58, master’s degree, top notch computer skills, can write, do bookkeeping in QuickBooks (self taught)…and do great customer service and other soft skills. Can scarcely get the time of day from employment prospects. I really would like to organize an entire bloc of us to metaphorically kick some ass on many levels –political, corporate, any who would keep us out of gainful employment and exile us to irrelevancy.

Men and women are affected by ageism in hiring.

Steve C. – I think something has to be done and soon. I have the 21st century skills of software developer and have been unemployed for 16 months! Could it be because I’m 59 years old? In tech you can’t get hired if you are over 40 as age discrimination is rampant in the industry. So I have two degrees and 30+ years of experience and can’t find a software job. What’s wrong with this picture?… there are plenty of online articles about the age discrimination in tech. They think us “older workers” don’t have the latest skill set and they don’t want us taking off sick time. Plus, they want to pay entry level salaries and work people 60-80 hours/week. They know that us grandpas won’t kill ourselves as slave labor anymore.

I have seen a divide of quantity over quality, the favoritism toward those who work all hours of the day over those of us who can work effectively without running hard.  I call it the inability to distinguish activity from achievement.

James W. Yep. 35 year of IT, VP of a tech firm with years of programming and analyst experience behind me, making 6 figures. THEN, 2008, laid off, couldn’t get jack shit for 1/2 my previous salary. Now in my 60’s —- no hope. I’ve given up.

The conversation is please get out of the workforce at 55 to make way for the younger generation, but don’t expect any financial safety net or help until you’re well into your sixties.

Wendy O. Age discrimination IS rampant, and brushed under the carpet. If we think it’s bad now, just think of all those whose retirement age, for full SS has climbed up to! How in the hell can anyone save, to retire by those ages, IF they can’t stay gainfully and continuously employed to get to full retirement age? As it is, due to the dismal employment opportunities, over the last decade, and outlook for the future, there is less money going into SS, no doubt. Companies may as well hand every employee, they terminate under any pretext, a cyanide pill along with the pink slip. That, or the starving homeless population will grow to be exponential.

Some say the new, new thing is the “gig economy” of Uber and E-Lance, but these are poor swaps for a livable wage.

Jim S. I’m with ya, brother. And I’m only 53. 😂😂😂 I’ve accepted the fact that I’m probably going to have to settle for contact work from here on out. Yes, the age discrimination is real. That, and salary discrimination. In this “all profit all the time” shareholder and Wall Street mentality of the 1%, the unspoken rule is salary and hiring depression. I like to call it “trickle down unemployment” because that’s been the real result for a lot of highly experienced and skilled workers over the age of 40.

America has an innate fear of the well-educated, too.  The code words for ‘too old’ is that you are far too overqualified and have far more education than the job requires.  Of course, the flip side of that coin is if you have no really deep, vertical training and experience in a particular area.

Denise G.  I have STEM, but have been unemployed since 2010. THREE degrees. Does anyone care?? Nope. We are squandering an entire part of the population and extreme amounts of talent…I HAVE a teaching license. AND live in rural MN. NO ONE Is hiring anyone with a MASTERS DEGREE. In fact, one of my friends said they just got a mass email from the superintendent stating that anyone who could take early retirement needed to, due to the coming HUGE budget shortfall. The entire nation is ridding itself of anyone over 45. They all want young blood that they can manipulate and pay cheap wages, let alone control benefits…. Go to Over Fifty and Out of Work and SEE what is REALLY happening in the US. All the people on this thread talking about oh, this place will hire you. that place will hire you, etc. NOT until we get some incentives for hiring and UNTIL WE PUT some TEETH into the age discrimination laws.

Often there is a blame-the-victim culture, that losing a job is a sign of personal failure, a sinful past, a weakness or other defect.  The hard part is knowing that the truly criminal behavior of some people visits the punishment on you and they go scot-free.

Allen E. Same thing happened to me. I worked for a company that was wildly successful but the banking meltdown sunk us…a company that was grossing 10 million  (USD) a year and employing 80 people before that! Our line of credit and loans were called and there was no government bailout for us. I was in my 60s at that time and as you might guess, there were very few jobs to be had and what was out there didn’t go to us “old-timers”. I thought accounting was a good, safe field of work but with constant mergers and automation of accounting services lots of companies no long have accounting offices… One thing you have to keep in mind, working at a company when you’re in your 40s or 50s is one thing, but trying to compete in the job market at that age is another. You might see an older guy at the office but you can bet your ass he/she is not a new hire. I have a lot of older friends sweatin’ it out hoping they can hang on at their companies until they reach retirement age.

The news is full of the productivity levels being high but they never quite explain that productivity is a ratio of output balanced against inputs, or namely, how much gets done with the least amount of personnel and money.  This is capitalism in a totally unfettered state.

Cathie C. I was there, too. For a long time after turning 50 I couldn’t even land an interview at a gas station or a convenience store. I finally found a minimum wage job at a dollar store where they absolutely consider every employee to be a thief that they just haven’t caught yet and want you to work your butt off rather than hire one more person so that the work could get done without killing yourself. I felt like a brown pelican-they have to dive with their eyes open to catch enough fish to survive, but the salt water eventually blinds them so they are just killing themselves to eat. I eventually found a great job, but those years changed me forever. I used to be positive and upbeat, confident that I would always land on top. Now I know depression and that I could be back in that position in a heartbeat no matter how hard working and determined I am. A guaranteed basic income would save us-if we didn’t have to fear for our survival we could still have our self respect and not be stuck where you feel you have no worth to society anymore and are just a waste of space on the planet.

The pain and shame makes you very lonely.

Sheila E. Been there and am another fellow “changed person” forever…I wouldn’t wish that struggle on my greatest enemy…I’m not sure if even my family understands or ever will…

Age is but a number.

Bill W.  If you are over 50, you can’t even get any interviews, no matter how much experience you have.”

“Melissa L. That is very sad. I describe myself as a 52 year old woman, with 19th century aesthetic, 20th century skills, trying to be gainfully employed in the 21st century. Not looking good for me either.

The old bait and switch.  You need to do this.  No money? Take out a student loan.  Now you are done, no one needs that skill or you find the under 30s are being hired over you with the same degree.  And you have a fat debt you can’t get out from under, to boot.

Douglas K. The typical conservative-libertarian answer is- “the market changed, YOU have to acquire new skills the market needs”. The reality is, one could go and get any skills, any graduate or technical degree you want in your 50s, and most companies would be hardly any more likely to hire you. I don’t whether the Universal Basic Income would help this or not, but anything that makes conditions better for workers and especially the unemployed should be an improvement.

What happened to the value of education in our society?  We let the free market run riot and no one really wants truly educated people as a result, it’s of no value compared to the hedge fund manager.

Dr. Cheryl C. I have worked for AT&T in Sales and Marketing, I was a legal administrator at a county hospital, I know how to write grants, I have run and managed churches and small businesses, and I was a public school teacher for 14 years. And I have doctorate in education. I have been unemployed for 2 years. I am 64 years old and can’t even get a phone call back after applying as a receptionist!! Nobody wants to hire someone my age. Social Security is the only thing keeping me from living on the street.

I am amazed at how many people didn’t ever read Joseph Heller’s Catch-22,  especially those under 35 or 40.  If things keep going the way they are, they won’t even have a frame of reference for how mad this all is.

Steve D. Add to that, you can’t get Medicare until 65, can’t withdraw from your retirement accounts [if you’ve got any] until 59.5, and can’t get your full social security until 66+. The system is rigged.  If it weren’t for the [for-profit] system, technological advance could have translated to less work hours while maintaining the same standard of living. Eventually, it could mean a basic income, but eventually, money doesn’t even make any sense. Enter Karl Marx.  No workers, no consumers, no capitalism.

We older rejects still have creativity and survival instincts.  Unfortunately, not all of us have a partner who brings in a second income to ensure we can stay housed, clothed, fed.

Laurie J. Washington State. 58, laid off in 2011 from civil service. Have high level skills. No luck finding any work at all so I make things and sell them on Etsy. I can’t just do nothing at all. If not for my husband I’d be a bag lady right now…me and my Master’s Degree.

The unkindest cut of all.  You’ve no money, you’re an older woman who has golden threads turning to silver or salt and pepper (and some of us are very far gone, even as young as our late thirties).  And you’re expected to shell out for hair dye to give yourself a veneer of agelessness that you probably can’t pull off if you’ve got a lot of professional experience.  Paying out $50-60-75 for a temporary fix just to at least get in the door?  This is madness.

Paula L.  I’m 59 and have a job interview tomorrow. This reminds me I need to dye my hair!

Of course, when our US Congress heard some time ago all the input from older workers who were consistently blanked for hiring, they couldn’t see ageism as a factor because no employer swore and oath and told the truth.

Vicki C.  I was told by someone at the Texas Workforce Commission (unemployment office) that age discrimination is alive and well. I had a great resume, good experience, good references but for the first time in my life I couldn’t find a job at age 60. After unemployment ran out and I had exhausted my savings I had to take early retirement at age 62. I had been previously in sales.

Wow, a solution–to work at a wage that wouldn’t pay for an apartment in most parts of our country or head for a country that is wracked by fundamentalism and tribal warfare, particularly against women.  Nice choice. So, try and work freelance for people who love to have you do work for them but forget about paying you.

Penney D. I have a Ph.D. in economics. I had a great job, loved what I did. The company I worked for was small, about 90 people. I was a road warrior, attending 60-80 trade shows per year. Went to work last Feb., doors were locked & the company never said a word. Turns out the CEO was looting the bank account. No problem, I thought, I have massive relevant degrees. It’s all about analytics & big data.
Its 15 months & the only offer I’ve gotten is filling shampoo bottles at $9.25/hr or teaching at a U in Lagos. I’m 61. The other side of this is.. I do consulting to pay the bills, but we pay 35% in taxes, we have to chase our $$ – most companies only want to pay every 60-90 days once you invoice them. i am owed over $28K in billings – I could do my own collections full time. The Gig economy isn’t all its cracked up to be.

For Veterans who served the country, the struggle goes on, despite the plethora of programs announced for helping Vets in particular get back into the workforce.

Mary R.  Two years ago, I was prepared to move and went ahead and took a leave of absence. At the last minute the move fell through. I was not allowed to get my job back until the leave of absence term was up. Then I had to hustle to get one. I discovered that 17 years experience in teaching, a college degree, and being a US Army Veteran DID NOT procure offers, it did not even procure interviews. I am over the age of 50, I do believe this is a factor. My thought was how in the world am I having so much trouble ? If this can happen to me, What happens to the young with no experience? Are they hired at dirt cheap wages that require them to have two or three jobs just to survive? It is way to young for me to retire as they have raised the age which I qualify for Social Security to 67.  I was lucky because after a couple of months, I got a very awful job, but at least I had an income.  I think that time for a universal basic income is now…  WOW, I never expected to get so many replies to this and to hear the same problem – Ageism. We cannot collect money for Social Security until most of us are 67. What do we do [until] then.

Possibly the worst aspect is realizing your friends and family are often unable to help meaningfully.  If I hear one more, “you’re so smart-talented-clever-nice, why can’t you find a job?” I will not be responsible for what happens next.

Gemma S. 25+ years here as a technology consultant. 47 years old. Can’t find work to save my life. The neoliberals among us will immediately assume that I’m doing something wrong, because they can’t conceive of a world in which external forces can result in a skilled worker being unable to find employment. I can’t even count the number of times I have had well-meaning friends ask me if I’d like them to look over my résumé to see if they can maybe improve it. So, I send them my résumé, and they are embarrassed because mine is far better than theirs…

So, the final verdict, which I happen to share:

Scott J. You are so right, I’m 59 and in the same boat though I only have one degree and so much experience I can’t list it all. Ageism will be sending us to an early grave if America doesn’t fund something like a Universal Basic Income.

 

And here’s the proof | Followup to Women over 50

17 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by in Gig Economics, Over 50 and Unemployed

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I think when I wrote my first post in #GigEconomics, I had the overview of why the theory has been largely substantiated in a report from PBS about women over 50 fare so badly in the job market (and therefore some of us are forced into the tenuous “gig economy”).

Here is the empirical data sets that apparently proved the fact, that it isn’t just in our heads.  Granted, once through the menopause cycle, our heads are a little more wobbly due to lack of estrogen–seems brains are tied to that hormone, else what would explain the behavior of a lot of men?

Anyway, I recall “60 Minutes” did a story back in the mists of time about the difficulty of African-Americans finding apartments (someone told me contemporary England did a similar story for black citizens in that country), where it was clear the rental agent discriminated against a “black sounding” phone caller who wanted to view a nice apartment (he was told it was no longer available) and a “white sounding” phone caller (the joke being that the caller was an African American who could change his voice to meet an insidiously racist impression of what was black and what was white) who rang up shortly after the first call and was told the agent would be happy to show the place to him.  It was the age-old story of #redlining in real estate.

Joking aside, it continues to be the reality that haunts so many of us.  I never dreamed I would not be of SOME value in the workforce, so I never prepared for this day.  Think about it, I was getting launched from grad school into the professional world when #RonaldReagan was spouting that it was “#MorninginAmerica” and Bobby McFerrin was warbling “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”  Truly #Brightsided and now blindsided.

And with the shaky condition of the U.S. middle class, that magically shrinking demographic, the #gigeconomy really sucks, too.  The ultimate down side to all this is that obtaining my own housing is as baleful as it would be for the African American who is “red lined”, while I am “in the red”.

A Fifties Phenomenon and I don’t mean “Happy Days”

08 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Gig Economics, Over 50 and Unemployed

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So I am a member of the “#gigeconomy”, a sort of purgatory that has strange bedfellows such as the quite youthful (those just emerging from college and finding the job market is a bit of a nightmare) and the mature employee who has smacked into the wall of ageism.  Well, we don’t like to admit the wall is there, but it is.

Recently I came across a great article about the specific issue of women over 50 who are increasingly locked out of jobs that can mean the difference between Coach bags or Bag Ladydom.  PBS Newshour did this spotlight report that showed how easily one can draw a series of inferences to what would seem a logical conclusion, although, unlike Sherlock Holmes, in this case all the building blocks and the final product really have no grounding in any reality of today’s society.

I just went through three interviews for part-time jobs in a condensed time frame, partly emboldened by my seasonal stint at a major retailer who managed to look past the silver threads among the gold and hired me at Christmas time.  Somehow, I get pipped at the post and while I am not certain that I was passed over for someone much younger, I really think that my age and skill set (typically far richer than the job requires) has a wet blanket effect.

So I move on, consigned to find any gig work I can as a virtual assistant cum technology whizz–I even have taken to referring to myself as an administrative or office support ninja, can you believe?  The gaps between money in my pocket are very large, and unfortunately the gathering of various opportunities rely on being able to spend some cash.

Welcome to ageism, gig economics, and the marginalization of whole groups.  Eventually it logically should bring down the whole works.