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What's this 11 Percent Club thing? When forming a club, you want a good name. So when this whole thing started, in March 2009, Oregon's Unemployment rate hit 10.8%, one of the highest in the Nation. The unemployment rate will change, it's been going up, hopefully it will go down, but when the club started one-in-ten Oregonians were out of work, and we never want to forget that. Ever. So how did this start? Recently informed "your position has been eliminated", a former writer/media/business-type from Portland was sitting with some friends who were not club members when the stark reality of what it means to have one in ten Oregonians out of work hit them all. But rather than bitch, whine, and complain, they started to think of what we could try to do to change things. And thus the club was born. For the out-of-work, when everyone is looking for the same few jobs, there's no shame in being broke. So we hope to have some fun with the reality of a maximum weekly benefit (before taxes, of course) of $482 a week. We also hope to give you a place where newbies can get the info they need to survive, sages can offer some advice, and everyone can collectively commiserate, network, and share ideas of how to turn things around. We want nothing more than for all you card-carrying members to get your asses out of the club. Fast! For those who have a job, survivor's guilt is for suckers! You could very well be next, so we have built a place where you can help start the conversation of what to do to help your friends who are unemployed and broke (and you know someone!). For business owners, look, small business is hurting and big business is helping fill the club, fast! We challenge you to find ways of helping those living on unemployment checks survive. If they can afford your goods or services, they can spend their weekly stipends at your business. (May we suggest an 11% discount?) All of us need to talk, network, collaborate, give, and do whatever we can to keep the jobs we have, help those who don't have a job, and stimulate the local economy so we can get people back to work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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