Unemployment Claims Crash State Web Sites

1sockchuck writes "A sign of the times: a surge in filings for unemployment benefits has crashed online application systems in four states this week. Web sites in Ohio, New York, Kentucky and North Carolina have been knocked offline by unusually high volumes of jobless claims. Phone applications systems appearing to be faring even worse in many states. The thin silver lining: states are hiring workers for phone banks and buying new servers to prop up their web sites."

Re:HUH??

[Kid Zero]

You're paying taxes because if you don't, men in dark suits come for you and make you go away.

Re:HUH??

[afidel]

Huh? Why would you waste gas traveling to the the unemployment office? Plus they can fill out job applications when they're done vs the time wasted traveling to and from the office plus waiting in line.

Re:Vast numbers of unemployed, surfing the web

[Ethanol-fueled]

FAIL. And that's the problem. Too many dickheads try to file the frist unemployment claim at once and jam up the system. See what it did to your "first"?

Re:HUH??

[russotto]

Because if you are unemployed you shouldn't have the internet.

Yeah, because as a computer programmer, the first thing I'm going to do to cut back when I get laid off is sever my connection to the job boards and cut off my email access to everyone I know who might be in a position to hire me. F-ing genius.

Re:HUH??

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Seriously? People are too lazy to go to the unemployment office? Why am I paying taxes again?

Lazy is not a synonymn of 'efficient'. Assuming you went to a public school, I'm wondering why I'm paying taxes.

Re:HUH??

[afidel]

Sorry but the utility of having internet service FAR outweighs the cost, especially when you are unemployed! When I was laid off during the last recession it was probably the best bill I paid, I was able to apply for probably hundreds of jobs that were never advertised offline and eventually landed one of them. The fuel I would have burned and the wear and tear on the vehicle driving to the library every day would have been significantly more. Not to mention that the library has a limited number of seats and so if everyone did as you suggested there wouldn't be enough seat hours to go around. Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed these people are NOT getting something for nothing, they all paid their unemployment insurance tax while working as so are perfectly entitled to the benefits.

Re:HUH??

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

I missed the part where those forums and your e-mail wouldn't work at the Library.

I don't get why you think making it more difficult for them to find work will get them off of Unemployment faster.

Re:HUH??

[ITEric]

Sad to say, I am currently unemployed. I go next door to my in-laws' house for internet (a definite luxury). Many of us do not have access to buses or subways, and are miles away from the "local" unemployment office (my local library is just as far). If I have business with the unemployment office that cannot be handled via internet, I call the office first before using the gas to drive.

I have a cell phone ($50/mo.) rather than a land line, so any potential employers can contact me whether I'm home or not. I don't tend to watch a lot of TV, but when I do watch, it's generally PBS on an old second hand set with rabbit ears.

I grew up poor in a rural area and know a thing or two about frugality. I never had a computer of my own until I learned to build one from discarded parts.

My point is, just because someone is unemployed and using the internet and a cell phone doesn't mean they are wasting limited resources.

Re:Do they need more servers !?!

[Shados]

Efficient or not, to process 2 million web submits in one shot, with a database involved, serving the images, bandwidth, database transactions and locks(big deal here!), etc etc etc will trash many data -centers-, nevermind one machine. There's also a lot more involved than the CPU, like memory, which tends to be what goes first =P

Re:HUH??

[timeOday]

I hope we hit another depression. Grandma and Grandpa knew how to live frugally.

This is characteristic of a peculiar mindset. "Look at that guy not wearing a seatbelt. I hope he gets in a crash and dies! Wahhh!" It comes from a fixation on the rules over and above what they are intended to accomplish.

Here, you will enjoy this [theonion.com].

Re:HUH??

[cbiltcliffe]

I think the same trolls are somehow getting mod points left, right, and center.

The parent is most definitely not a troll.

Irrational envy

[TapeCutter]

"Some people need to be taught the difference between Want and Need."

While others need to learn the meaning of irrational envy.

"And my company has never had an engineering layoff in the entire 85+ year history of the company."

The confidence of youth is mainly due to a lack of experience. Now before you start lecturing me about the GoodOldDays(TM) I should inform you that my eldest son was born two years before you were. Like yourself he has never had to find work in a recession, let alone the depression you are wishing for.

"I think I'm doing pretty good."

So STFU and enjoy it instead of bitching about people you know nothing about.

Bean counters

[zogger]

The upcoming administration is making noises they will be giving employers some sort of tax break or stimulus to "create jobs" and hire more people (up to 3 thousand bucks a job!). So..maybe it isn't far fetched to think a lot of the folks being laid off now will be rehired once this new tax break dodge starts back up again. Just a thought..

Re:HUH??

[afidel]

It doesn't really matter who pays it, it's a cost of carrying an employee so it's part of your compensation package. Since the corporation is composed of the people who supply either the capital or the human capital it's all the same.

Re:HUH??

[debatem1]

I won't lie, I do a lot like you do, but hearing you say it like that makes me think I should stop. Is all the cash you're socking away going to buy you a better life? What about your loved ones? The things you believe in? Is the pleasure of watching your little pile of gold grow worth more than the good it could be doing in the wider world?

Re:HUH??

[xaxa]

Why shouldn't they have one luxury anyway?

Re:HUH??

[El Yanqui]

But it's frustrating to no end to drive past the subsidized housing on the way to work and see nicer cars than me. People crossing the street on iPhones and wearing brand new clothes. People that bitch they have no money but have plenty of money for 2 packs a day. Some people need to be taught the difference between Want and Need.

Frustrating? I think you are far too concerned with other people. Seriously, you sound like somebody who is doing well for himself so focus on your own life and stop worrying so much about what other people are doing, buying and how they live their lives.

Re:HUH??

[cvd6262]

Reminds me of when I was an undergrad. I went to school through the summers in a town that only existed for its university, so I lived alone for some of the time. Without other people living with me, I turned off the AC, slept on my schedule, got tons of work done (both for class and for the multiple part-time IT jobs I held down), and ate very frugally. I remember the first summer I had one set of dishes, a skillet, and a sauce pan. When I got a car, I paid cash for it. It lasted me six years with minor repairs that I did myself. Good times.

I now keep my house at 71-degrees F, have full hot water, one almost-paid-off newer car, and I'm looking for another one. What's changed? Marriage and a family. If I lived like you do (and like I did in college), child services would cart off my newborn twins, but my wife would take them somewhere else long before that.

I'm with you on the luxury issues, but don't judge everyone because they're not able to be as extremely misery as you are. Some of us would be if we could, but we have other people depending on us. My extensive collection of Backyardigans DVDs may seem excessive to you, but I prefer it over cable TV. A friend of mine is a consultant and absolutely believes his BMW helps him get jobs.