Those low level occupations you speak of are just not available to most middle class workers that lose their job. Even low level jobs have requirements. No one hires a 50 year old office worker to dig ditches.They would rather you lose your home than receive unemployment benefits YOU paid for. I don't understand these people. They think they would rather collect a paltry payment than work and get paid what they were used too? What kind of logic is that?
Right now, its hard (depending on where you live of course) to find employment. The jobs just are not there. They quote the unemployment numbers when they are trying to make the president look bad, but say to these guys, go find a job. ???
They think a person who is trying to find a job but cant is automatically a "welfare queen" and that is just wrong.
Sometimes if a person can't find work it is because they wont take a job unless it is of a certain type, or in a certain field that suits them; something they are invested in. It may be better for some people to finally lose their home and be forced to move to another city where there are jobs in their desired occupational field; a move they would never make unless conditions precipitate that move.
That could be the best thing for them, rather than waiting for certain job openings that will never come. Too often maybe, people need to be forced to begin at a lower level occupation - maybe even working a second part time job until they get a raise - just so that they can get back into the game. Once back in the game they can be more comfortable, earning a check, while attempting to again find work in their desired field. That may never happen, but by having some work they have more leverage than as an unemployed person.
Unemployment benefits are based on your salary. In most states, it rarely pays more than a quarter of your salary. You still have to pay income tax on it which leaves even less. I have never know anyone who would rather be on unemployment than have a job.
Extension of unemployment benefits is always a political game. Whichever party that controls congress attaches legislation to the unemployment extension that the other party can not support. It's pure politics.
A part time job flipping burgers at McDonalds or being a greeter at Wal-mart pays more than the average unemployment check. I would pay somebody $100 right now to pick up the fallen apples in my back yard and do some other grunt work in the yard that I don't want to do. Somebody with a truck can make another $100 hauling a bunch of our junk to the dump.
My own resources are limited as to how much I can help in that way, but I am guessing there are dozens or hundreds like me in my neighborhood who would pay for odd jobs. My nephew runs a construction company and fortunately does have work right now and is having trouble hiring laborers to do the grunt work--picking up trash, general clean up--at the construction site. It is not hard work--just about any mobile person can do it--and he said at least a couple of folks turned him down because the work wasn't permanent and they didn't want to jeopardize their unemployment?
But if that is all a person has to bring in a few bucks for groceries, I imagine there will be people who would do even that kind of menial work.
I remember once when I was pregnant and nobody would hire me because I was pregnant that I took a job as a telemarketer peddling magazines. And using the techniques we were required to use to do that, it was disgusting, degrading work. But I did it. What made it tolerable was that I knew it wasn't permanent.
Life sometimes just sucks and we have to do what we have to do.