A Broken System

"Your call is important to us and we regret that you must hold," said the monotone voice on the other end of my phone. Yet the waiting continued for another 20 minutes without any human contact. I would hang up and try again but the fact that I even got through was miraculous. This is what my life is like twice a month waiting for unemployment. 

The economy seems to be in a state of constant flux. Some days are better than others but the unemployment levels continues to rise at an alarming rate. To be fair, this isn't entirely the fault of President Obama. He has spent most of his term in office cleaning up the mess left by president Bush. The concept of unemployment is fantastic, actually making sure it is given to those in need is the problem. 

As with so many things in the government, it is all about bureaucracy. Millions of Chicagoans are now intimately familiar with the IDES, the gatekeepers of the system. Despite being well put together the Web site is full of glitches and loopholes that stop the average patron from receiving their payment on time. Everyone is given the option of applying for benefits online but when you click on the link you are met with the disclaimer: 

Caution:  Most people will not be able to access the Internet Claim application or Direct Deposit registration service using Firefox, Safari, or other unsupported web browsers.

What is the point of giving people the option of applying online if most won't be able to use it in the first place? Why not simply update the system to allow for easier access?  This wouldn't be so much of a problem is registering by phone wasn't just as complicated. 

The role of government should be to help those that they govern. In an age of high technology shouldn't the government have the means to streamline the process by now? Obama harnessed the power of social networking to win the election, you would think he'd be able to work out the kinks in the unemployment system.