Not all survival tips are helpful

I cringed as a 30-something stuffed suit on TV gave America's recently unemployed what he called a "tip" on how to handle their "misfortune."

He said, "You'll have to accept that you have to take a loss on your home. You are going to have to sell it for less than you bought it for, but, hey, that's life."

Another "tip" he had was "don't stop paying your bills."

I thought, "If I could pay my bills without working, why would I work in the first place?"

I wanted to talk sternly with him -- behind the woodshed.

People are sitting in homes they raised their families in; that they bought for $85,000, then, 20 years later, refinanced for $170,000 to send the kids to college, and now, because of greed in the financial "community," they owe more than it is worth.

To make matters worse, the prime breadwinner has lost his job, and this fool is giving them idiot tips like, "Take a loss... Hey, it's life."

That's not a tip. That's an insult.

Somewhere around mid-March, I got fed up with the foolishness of tips such as: "When you lose your job go back to school, don't touch your savings, keep contributing to your retirement funds, don't stop paying your bills, network with those in your industry; stockpile three to six months living expenses; hire a career counselor; keep your health insurance; do volunteer work."

These are all "tips" I have heard or read in the past year.

The truth is, if you lose your job what

you need is current and thorough information and the basic survival skills to use that information.

According to my military training, basic survival needs include water, food, shelter, and medicine.

What we really need to know is where it is and how to get it.

We need to know where to apply for unemployment and how to get the check as fast as possible.

For 40 years or so you have been putting an extra buck or two on your heating bill for low-income families. Now that you are the low-income family, how do you get it back?

What will utilities do for you? They talk a good game of helping low-income people. How do you apply to them for help, and will they give it to you?

On Saturdays, you have put out cans of food for the Scouts, or brought them to the post office. Now that you are hungry, who has that food and will they give you some?

Politicians keep saying how the stimulus bill will help homeowners stay in their homes.

How? Where do you apply to get a lower rate on your mortgage?

Someone ought to be helping you with this, right?

I watch the drug companies' commercials. They tell us how if you can't afford your medicine the company will help. It is time to put their money where their mouths are, but how do you apply? How do you get a break on your medicine so you can stay alive until you get a new job?

I was getting very frustrated with what I felt was a lack of useful information for those who have lost their jobs and face the world with only political rhetoric and Internet idiocy to help them.

The boob tube was living up to its name, asking for tips from people who had never had a hard day in their lives and still hold their six-figure jobs, and the tips were what you would expect: drivel. Newspapers are a different animal from all the other media. We work differently, have different missions and goals.

I brought an idea to my supervisors and in a matter of three days, the idea had grown into lists, assignments, outlines and supervision. The entire writing, photography and editorial staff had been mobilized to get this information for all of us.

The outcome is presented here, and on connpost.com, and we will continue to update the information as needed.

Our readers will be able to find tips on just how to get heating aid, food assistance, a better rate on your mortgage, the best deal you can get on your utility bills, how to get inexpensive clothing, how to get help paying for health insurance, how to get from place to place without a car, and anything else we can think of that will help get us all through the new depression.

In effect, we will do our jobs: Jobs that are different from all other media.

Our job is to help our readers, not just entertain them with drivel. Newspapers are the people.

Today's edition of the newspaper and the Web site will give you the information you will need. That, along with basic survival skills, will help us all make it out the other side of this idiocy alive.