Unemployment and a Family of Four: Revised

As part of a recent class project, I was randomly assigned a family situation that is common in the United States. Using a loan calculator, paycheck calculator, and price estimates made by my peers, I was able to create a monthly budget to support my family. My family situation was that both my spouse and I were laid off from GE, we have an income of $400 per week for a maximum of twenty-six weeks, we have two kids, and we each owe $60,000 in student loans individually. Our monthly income, after taxes, came out to be $1,595.54.

Budget:
Rent - $450.00
Utilities - $250.00
Renter's Insurance - $25.00
College Loan Pay-Off - $320.00
Groceries - $472.40
Garbage Service - $5.00
Bus Pass - $15.73
Medical Care - $30.00
Pharmacy/Household Items - $27.41

Because of the large college loan debts and lack of steady income, most household basics had to be cut. The phone service was cut in favor of pharmacy and household items. Life insurance for both my spouse and myself was cut in favor of money for immediate medical care. The bus pass will cover all transportation costs, making car payments, car insurance, and gas money extraneous. My spouse and I will care for the children, as we are currently unemployed and will search for jobs at home. While doing this project, I realized just how expensive it is to have a family. Fellow students making money similar to mine but without a family were much better off. Also, I was surprised to find out how quickly a person can go from making $4,000 to $1,500, without any chance to prepare for the huge effect on his or her budget. I now know that saving the amount of money I thought I would need to save would only support me for one month after losing my job. The effect of the college loans on my budget also increased my awareness of just how important it is to seek out financial aid for college. I could save so much money later in life simply by making sure I do not take out too many loans for college this coming fall. I hope that the other students in my class have learned as much from this activity as I have.

I believe that unemployment dollars should be increased. I believe that the amount of money given to each family for unemployment should be proportional to the amount of income that the unemployed person(s) was last receiving. This would make it easier for higher previous-income families to adjust their budgets over a couple of months. However, there should also be a higher minimum rate, so that those without high incomes to start with would not suffer more because of the proportion. It is crucial for unemployment benefits to increase because New York State unemployment has risen to 7.6%, and is increasing by the month. Every dollar spent on unemployment benefits results in a $1.73 increase in economic activity, because those receiving the benefits use the money right away to purchase groceries and pay rent. From that statistic, it is clear that increasing the amount of money paid to the unemployed would also benefit the employed citizens of the United States by boosting the economy. The idea of extending unemployment benefits has also been raised. Last year, Congress was considering an increase of 13 weeks of benefits to all states, and an additional 13 weeks to states with an unemployment rate above 6%. An extension would give citizens a longer period of time to search for a new job before dropping off to no income, and would give some people the opportunity to keep their homes or other assets. When their is no income for unemployed families, it is very difficult for them to get back on their feet.

Sources:
Loan calculator: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/popcalc2.asap
Paycheck calculator: http://www.paycheckcity.com/netpaycalc/netpaycalculator.asp
New York State AFL-CIO: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/iubenefits
Extending Unemployment Benefits Would Help Economy: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/mi12_levin/morenews/IN06102008.shtml

Unemployment and a Family of Four

As part of a recent class project, I was randomly assigned a family situation that is common in the United States. Using a loan calculator, paycheck calculator, and price estimates made by my peers, I was able to create a monthly budget to support my family. My family situation was that both my spouse and I were laid off from GE, we have an income of $400 for a maximum of twenty-six weeks, we have two kids, and we each owe $60,000 in student loans individually. Our monthly income, after taxes, came out to be $1,595.54.

Budget:
Rent - $450.00
Utilities - $250.00
Renter's Insurance - $25.00
College Loan Pay-Off - $320.00
Groceries - $472.40
Garbage Service - $5.00
Bus Pass - $15.73
Medical Care - $30.00
Pharmacy/Household Items - $27.41

Because of the large college loan debts and lack of steady income, most household basics had to be cut. The phone service was cut in favor of pharmacy and household items. Life insurance for both my spouse and myself was cut in favor of money for immediate medical care. The bus pass will cover all transportation costs, making car payments, car insurance, and gas money extraneous. My spouse and I will care for the children, as we are currently unemployed and will search for jobs at home. While doing this project, I realised just how expensive it is to have a family. Fellow students making money similar to mine but without a family were much better off. Also, I was surprised to find out how quickly a person can go from making $4,000 to $1,500, without any chance to prepare for the huge effect on his or her budget. I now know that saving the amount of money I thought I would need to save would only support me for one month after losing my job. The effect of the college loans on my budget also increased my awareness of just how important it is to seek out financial aid for college. I could save so much money later in life simply by making sure I do not take out too many loans for college this coming fall. I hope that the other students in my class have learned as much from this activity as I have.

Calculator Sources:
Loan calculator: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/popcalc2.asap
Paycheck calculator: http://www.paycheckcity.com/netpaycalc/netpaycalculator.asp

Hamas vs. The Israelis

As many people now know, a war has broken out between Israel and the Hamas governing Gaza. While Hamas is shooting missiles and rockets out into the cities of Israel, the Israeli militia has forced its way into Gaza to render the Hamas rocket launchers useless. Up until a week ago, Gaza and Israel were held by a six-month, Egyptian-brokered truce, under which Hamas ended attacks on Israel and Israel halted its raids in Gaza and eased its blockade on goods. Prior to the truce's end, Gaza resumed its rocket bombardment and Israel retaliated with an invasion. It has been made clear that a mere agreement between the two powers will not suffice. The U.N. proposed a cease-fire deal between the countries, but both refused. Israel stated that it would not back down until rockets stop falling on its people. The Hamas would not comply because they were angered that they were not consulted earlier, and also stated they wanted all border crossings opened before they would consider a cease-fire. Many countries, especially those in the United Nations, are now urging Israel to remove its forces from Gaza in the hopes of bringing peace to the region. I agree with those countries for many reasons. First, although Israel may be more in the "right" to fight because of Hamas' preliminary onslaught, Gaza is the area losing the most from the fighting. Rockets are landing on Israeli soil, but only thirteen Israelis have died from the rockets and combat. Seven hundred eighty Palestinians have died, with at least half of them being civilians. If Israel removes its troops, very few of their people will be lost and the relief groups that will then be safe to transport supplies to civilians in Gaza will save many Palestinian lives. If Hamas does not cease-fire after Israel removes its militia, I believe that other countries should then be able to go into Gaza and remove any threatening weapons.

As for the United States, I think that my decision will mostly impact the way other countries view us. By not immediately forcing ourselves into a country, we will show thoughtfulness in our actions and respect for the rest of the world. The United States has a foreign policy that clearly accepts the role to provide military and non-military aid to other countries in need, making it available to Gaza as a relief resource. If needed by the U.N. and other countries involved, we would be able to support a popular relief mission. The money spent removing various rocket launchers after Israel ceases-fire would be much less than it would be now, because it would now also be spent getting between the Israelis and Hamas in their battles. I believe that supporting the beliefs of other influential countries during a slightly smaller war than say, a World War, would strengthen the ties between the United States and the U.N. In the future, the U.N. might be more willing to support the United States if we support them now. In no way am I implying that the United States simply accept what the United Nations believe and do as they say to gain power and influence, but that we take the opportunity to work with them in a time that we can agree.


Sources:
Israel Ignores Europe’s Calls for a Cease-Fire in Gaza – WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123115402029453553.html

Israel and Hamas Ignore UN Call for Cease-Fire – Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090109/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

Rocket Kills 2 Children After Gaza Border Reopens – CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/26/israel.gaza.border/

Hamas Militants Attack Gaza Border Crossing with Bomb-Filled Cars – GlobalSecurity.org
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2008/04/mil-080419-voa03.htm