News about economics, a.k.a. “the dismal science,” can often seem academic and even theoretical. Unemployment figures and graphs, while perhaps relatively accurate statistically, do not tell the human story that every person who loses their job has to experience and may be able to tell.
It was on a Saturday evening in January at a middle school basketball game that I found out that two good friends of mine, a married couple, had both lost their jobs. Both of them are highly intelligent, well-educated and personable individuals–not the type you would expect to be laid off. And they have two children and I would imagine a sizable mortgage.
Just as most all of us know someone who has had cancer or heart disease, the current wave of unemployment is wide-ranging. Not a week goes by without me connecting with some friend who is seeking work. The economic downturn got personal on that Saturday in January.
Posted by keneperez 