BizOpinion: Wall Street got bailed out, but families are still struggling

In a new BizOpinion column, Janesville high schooler Nick Strub, who’s interning in the office of Democratic state Sen. Judy Robson this summer, writes about the impact unemployment has had on his family:

“My dad, Ron Strub, worked at Lear Corporation in Janesville for 18 years. My mom, Anna Strub, worked there for eight years. The closing of General Motors forced many of its suppliers to shut down. Lear was one of them. All of the employees lost their jobs, including my dad. My mom was already on medical layoff due to on-the-job injuries which resulted in complete disability. She is no longer able to hold a job.

“Lear’s employees were offered tuition to go back to school. My dad enrolled at Blackhawk Technical College to earn his associate’s degree in criminal justice. He hopes to be a correctional officer. He has completed a year’s work so far. While going to school, he receives unemployment benefits.

“There is a catch to going back to school though. If my dad decided to get a job while remaining in school, his unemployment benefits would be cut. Our family is very dependent on an unemployment check. …

“Without an extension of unemployment benefits, there will be very little, if any, income for our family, as well as thousands of other families in Wisconsin. Most of these jobless workers have already exhausted what personal savings they had.”

Read the rest of Strub’s column at BizOpinion