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.