OTHER OPINIONS : More than statistics
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 7:07 a.m.
Neptune, N.J. — The nation's economy is still bleeding jobs, a new unemployment report : confirmed. :
But behind those bleak numbers is an even bleaker picture: the numbers represent the faces of men and women and families whose lives have been turned upside down and are becoming increasingly desperate. The situation is exacerbated by the inability of Congress to move quickly on health-care reform, leaving hundreds of thousands of the newly jobless without insurance and hundreds of thousands more vulnerable and anxious at the prospect of losing theirs.
A Rutgers study released this week found that job loss traumatizes workers. That may seem obvious, but what that trauma looks like from the inside may be less so. :
Given the dire situation, the researchers said the stage is set for a mental-health epidemic. :
It's not enough for the government to ask people to hold on. Unemployment benefits must be extended and healthcare reform - at least that aspect of it that can help people without health insurance avert financial ruin - must remain on the front burner.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 09/16/2009
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