Down, Not Out: Unemployed In Ohio

The Huffington Post caught up with Marvin Bohn sitting on his porch in Yellow Springs, Ohio after a day of thunderstorms. He'd just come back from the movies. We'd heard he was out of a job.

I went through 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. Now I'm on the 13-week extension. I've been looking for work but not finding any. I ran the dining services for Antioch College in Ohio. Antioch closed June of last year. Good jobs in food service are hard to find.

At this moment I've already dropped COBRA. It was costing $597 a month. I just couldn't afford it. I take 11 medications, which I've gotten my doctor to put what he could on generics. But I'm still taking Plavix and Byetta.

In Springfield I worked as an executive chef, 80 hours a week. You could pretty much figure that from the Monday prior to Thanksgiving to New Year's Day I'd have no day off. So many banquets.

Do you live with family?

I'm a single person. I had taken care of my mother for 23 years. She passed away two years ago. She'd gotten to the point it was probably better.

I need to hopefully get a job that has benefits. When I've talked to insurance companies, what they want to charge you is phenomenal -- anywhere from $600 to a $1,000 a month. Some of them won't even quote me. I'm a type II diabetic. I've had two heart attacks, open-heart surgery, congestive heart failure. I've got a defibrillator in my chest. The same device that Dick Cheney has. It's the only thing he and I have in common.

How old are you?

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There are nice people out there who say I don't look 57. I look in the mirror. I look 57.

Looking for work?

I did talk to a person last week with a local fast food chain. A local franchise. The job was $25,000 a year, on the clock 45 hours a week. He asked what I was making on unemployment. I told him $365. He just looked at me and said, "That's ridiculous that you make so much."

What fast food chain?

Burger King. They didn't offer me the job. They'd set up 11 interviews, the largest number they'd had for an assistant manager position.

What's your day like, usually?

Most days I get up in the morning, get on the computer, and look for want ads. Craigslist, Monster, Yahoo. I read the Dayton daily news, I check the Cincinnati paper, the Columbus paper. Trying to find if there's anything out there. If there is, I send in a resume. I basically stopped going out and knocking on doors.

Usually that's how I spend my morning. I will take a walk in the afternoon - today because of the thunderstorms I decided to go see a movie. I saw "Up." I love animation. It was just excellent. Every time I see an animated movie it's so much better than last time.

How did your heart problems develop?

My grandfather had a series of strokes. My father died of a heart attack at age 57, my brother died of heart attack at age 50. My mother had a heart attack, open heart surgery. My older sister died of liver cancer. It spread from her colon. I'm sure it's genetics. My cholesterol is under control, but the doctors will tell you, eating the wrong things, not getting exercise. But I was working 80 hours a week.

When I had my initial heart attack, I was living in Springfield and they were supposed to take me to the community hospital. My insurance company would not OK surgery at that hospital.

I had an IV in me, a pump to strengthen my heart, and an external pacemaker. They came up and told me the insurance company said I would have to pay the deductible. It was over $6,000, I think. Since they would not provide transportation and I would have to wait for the doctors to release me so I could go home, then eventually check into the other hospital, we just simply chose to go ahead and pay the extra amount of money. Four more weeks or five more weeks off work. How much money does that cost?

I always get a little t'd off when they talk about how government is going to tell you what doctors you're going to see. Insurance companies are doing that now.

HuffPost readers: Are you one of the record number of people experiencing long-term unemployment? Tell us about it -- email [e-mail].

Comments

[reedaleddy]

I'm sorry but the government does not want to tell you what doctor and treatment you can get, they want to stop people like my Aunt who goes to 20-30 doctors until one will give her enough pain killers. Hospitals give you a cat scan, x-rays, name brand scripts and has a orthopedic specialist see you if you fell off bike and cut finger on glass and bruise arm adding up to in the tens of thousands in you have insurance to cover the not insured like me, I won't go to the hospital ER unless I'm unconscious and have no choice. If you think about it what they want and need to do is treat you like a dentist when your uninsured tell you what is totally necessary and what they recommend but is not an emergancy like teeth whitening or braces for a tooth a bit sticking out

[CountryBeforeParty]

I have not been able to find full time work in over two years

[BPCentrisAmerican]

I have a friend who lost her 6 figure creative director job back in 2003, and she still hasn't been able to land anything and dosen't bother her at all to take less money, in fact she would welcome less pressure. Her Husband lost his middle management job at a small manufacturing company where he worked for 16 years. They are conservative Republicans with whom I have some lively politcal debates, but a aside from our politics were really not that much different in interest and values, so we stay friends regardless. This economy is hurting everyone liberal, conservative, moderate, college educated, managers, young and older, etc. This couple made so much money from there investments in the 90's that they paid down there mortgage in 8 years, yet they just can't bring themselves to admit there lives and future was better under Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

[indy100]

They also can't admit that their hero GW was a liar and a destructive idiot who screwed this country over with their approval for eight years. That's the true irony here. We expect the rednecks and the uninformed to hang on to their ridiculous opinions and attitudes but these are supposedly educated people who refuse to wake up and see the disaster. You're a much better person that I am. I would have had to seperate myself from friends like these. Not because of their views, but because like most Republicans they can't see or admit that they were wrong. I can't stand the arrogance and hypocrisy.

[Ishmael1]

Well, at least I can say I never voted Republican in my life. That said, I've been seeing the effects of the globalization of Capitalism for decades. When I saw China begin morphing into an Authoritarian Capitalist State I knew my prediction of Making the US competitive with the Third World by reducing us to Third World living standards would become a reality.

So the question I ask now is this:

In an increasingly globalized, automated economy, what becomes of the excess labor capacity?

Oh, I forgot one other:

And Socialism is bad again, Why?

[KCFreedom]

So it appears "capitalism" loves "communism" with no labor standards or protections of the people. Two tiers.

So communism appears to have "won".

[Willow712]

Lucky for me I am a nurse, I am not unemployed. However, I have an invisible disability that I cannot get health insurance for. I have narcolepsy, and if I could find insurance, it would be over 1600 a month. Therefore, with my back problems, my fibromyalgia and my narcolepsy, I have to work. Once I am unable to work, I am s*c*r*e*w*e*d. I know it takes more than 2 years to get social security disability and COBRA (IF I could afford it) only lasts for 18 months. I am only working 3 days a week, but I have to work this many days, whether I am hurting or not.

And Dick Cheney gets the low cost, wonderful health insurance for life.

[motu]

count me in as one of the millions of not counted unemployed­...
sure I get some free lance but not enough for half my bills.

[CupOJoe]

Only a year? Noob.

[Solja]

Exactly.

[patrickhenrypress]

Ditto.

[reedaleddy]

I on 2 Yeah Detroit!!! My home town

[davidwayneosedach]

It is a sad story. What happens when unemployment and all its extensions finally run out?

[Solja]

You are S.O.L.

I just started getting them again when the unemployment rate in MD went past a certain benchmark. I had nothing between when my benefits ended and restarted again, some 4-5 months of zero income. Now I get the extra $25 a week from Obama's stimulus plan. Getting it definitely helps, but I was making $52k as a asst. proposal writer/graphics designer for a military construction contractor. I've been getting unemployment longer than I actually worked there. I had just got the job and was laid off. My landlord was selling her homes and I was told to move a month after I lost my job. I moved to the midwest with family and have yet to find a job. I feel like I am in the wrong place as their industry here is manufacturing and back home in DC, where I'm from, the industry is gov't, associations, etc., lots of offices, almost none of that exists here where I am.

[KCFreedom]

Those manufacturing jobs in the midwest are going away, too.

St. Louis is getting heavily hit in the manufacturing sector, for example.

Cessna in Wichita has layed off half of its workers.

[TovSquirrel]

I can empathize completely.
I have been out of work for 16 months and the savings are getting very thin. COBRA and the medications have been stopped since I cannot afford them and keep a roof over my head at the same time.
On top of the humiliation of being unemployed for so long is that the Federal Government taxes unemployment benefits.

[csmcmillion]

I've been out of work nearly 6 years now. White, middle-aged male. :-(

I have a BSEE, and 15+ years of experience, but all anyone cares about is what you've been doing in the workplace the last 6-12 months.

[w8aminute]

Those of you that are employed this take note - you DON'T have a safety net. No matter what you put in savings - DOUBLEit! I'm 50 and invested into retirement savings since I began working in my 20s. I made mistakes - took money out for a house down payment. When I hired on with IBM I made the biggest mistake of all by believing their retirement 'promises'. I made the mistake of spending my previous retirement by upgrading to a nicer house. Paid penalties, etc but thought by the time I retire from IBM, I'd recover it . I was wrong. IBM did away with the defined pension in 1999 and switched to a cash-balance plan. I didn't qualify under the grandfathering rules for the old plan. Didn't start from scratch, there was no way I could recover the difference in what was 'promised' to what I'd actually get at 66. I put 15% in my 401k. When my mother died, took a hardship withdrawal to pay for her funeral & that kicked me out of the plan for 6 months. Then the market crashed& I lost almost 40% of what I had. Also, IBM previously promised retirement healthcare. They were able to get out of that by 'giving' a 'future health account'. You must reach 55 with 15 years or you forfeit it. Laidoff before 55 and it's gone too. Moral of the story?
Save more and never trust what your employer tells you. Don't repeat my

[roshni]

I think not trusting a corporation is good advice. You never know what could happen with a management change.

[w8aminute]

had to shorten my post by 8 words....m­y editing wasn't the best.... Last sentence was supposed to say:
Don't repeat my mistakes.

[FloresdelaHoz]

How is it that Germans who have lost two devastating wars in 90 years don't have these problems?

The average Western European lives a higher quality of life than we in the US. One reason is that they don't have an oligarchy like us and Argentina that runs the country for the benefit of the top 1%.

Wake up America, we have been had by Wall Street and Washington DC or 28 years.

[KCFreedom]

Europe does have an oligarchy that sucks the money out of it.

But the socialist system guarantees some wealth is shared as benefits for citizens.

When it comes down to it, they don't pay THAT much more in taxes there than we do. They get a lot more for it, though.

[TovSquirrel]

At hell of a lot longer than 28 years.

[kesmarn]

They don't transfer huge amounts of wealth to Halliburton, ITT, Lockheed, Blackwater, etc., etc. Militaristic chest-thumping sure is expensive.

[kassandranobody]

We do not have medical care or medical ins in this country


We pay for medical until we need it - then we lose it ????????

We have a medical pyramid scheme- just like the banking system


There is no one to buy in anymore and the whole thing is crashing

Corporations don't have the money to pay

There is no middle class to pay anymore

[PatCroft]

This is another good example how dysfunctional local, State, and Federal governments have become.

It is not a mistake that AIG can be bailed out within minutes but it is a severe mistake and by design that this government can be mean and non responsive to people.

There is no respect for a persons labor in this country. Since the financial crisis hit, hourly and salaried employees have been taking it in the shorts for those still fortunate to have employment.

Ronald Reagan replaced employment pensions with the 401K. He was also successful in freezing a living wage.

Unemployment is a short term solution for those that are deemed eligible, however many people are not eligible.

This government has just been very people unfriendly. And as great as President Obama is, it will take years to change what needs to be changed. The test is to have a government that is responsive to its people. A government that has value.

Case in point is the Health Care debate, which is half a century in debate (60 years). What is there to debate. I know of no one who likes the hoops that are ask of them to jump through for basic coverage. I know no one who likes the scrutiny or the co pays. It is a ponzi scheme.

Congress is going to need to figure out speedfastly about what to do with all of these mid life baby boomers who are unable to find gainful and respectful employment.

[augusteighteenth]

Same boat, different health issues...a­nd yes its a hopeless place to be