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The Allure of Work
the steep rise in the unemployment rate following the mortgage crisis and the subsequent economic recession. The unemployment rate that month hit a peak at 10.2 percent, the highest it had been since 1982.1 In 1933, as a result of the Great Depression almost one in four Americans was out of work,2 but that staggering statistic did nothing to ease the pain of those twenty-first-century Americans who were without work. Just as it did nothing for the additional 4 million Americans who were not being counted in the unemployment statistics because they had been unemployed for so long that they no longer received unemployment benefits. In response to this nearly unavoidable unemployment—and it no doubt was unavoidable, for if we consider that at least one in six Americans was unemployed or underemployed, then even the wealthiest American must have known someone who was affected by the recession—Americans were forced to find work or sustenance by any means necessary. Some of those who had the means moved to areas with higher employment potential, and many immigrants returned to their countries of origin, where they thought perhaps there might be more work. Some people started new business ventures or went back to school in hopes that a fresh start would dramatically change their lives. Some relied on the five years of social services benefits that our government provides to those citizens who are struggling to make ends meet. Some of them surely turned to selling their bodies because it was the only thing they undoubtedly owned. Some may have opted for and remained in jobs that were exploitative or abusive. Others may very well
in october 2009, americans lamented