17 Comments

Duh — unemployment benefits are insurance! I never thought of it that way before. Thank you for calling out the origin of a benefit I was quite grateful for during the pandemic.

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Today’s column is the type that got me hooked on this newsletter. It’s like Paul Harvey used to say during his radio broadcasts: “And now, the rest of the story.” I lived for a few years during the mid-late 70s in a small town just out of range of decent FM radio stations. Mr. Harvey was on an am station I ran across. His broadcast was a bright spot in my days.

“Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast News and Comment on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous The Rest of the Story segments. From 1951 to 2008, his programs reached as many as 24 million people per week. Paul Harvey News was carried on 1,200 radio stations, on 400 American Forces Network stations, and in 300 newspapers.”

- Wikipedia

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You forgot to tell us about the laptop..

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Great story on EB and Paul. I never knew the history of unemployment insurance! Always learn from you every day. Thanks Bill!!!

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Some folks have dreams when they were children that focused them throughout their lives. I was one of them.

As a child, I would go around rubbing people’s backs. My parents put a stop to that immediately. Then I would pet animals. That was stopped too. I shut down. When I was in my 20’s, I was told that I was to be a massage therapist. I rolled my eyes, but took vacations learning alternative ways of healing, being told at each one that I should be a healer. Again I rolled my eyes. Finally at 45, I was frustrated at my non success and again told to look into being a massage therapist. So I finally went with it. Now I’m in my 70’s, I have two interns and am booked for the year with clients. Ya never know...

Anyone else have something like this happen?

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Really enjoyed this story. Thank you for sharing.

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I echo the Paul Harvey sentiments and thank you for finding stories like this. So much bad news makes the inspiring stories that much more precious!

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This is a marvelous story Bill. It is funny how family stories, if passed on at all, can get lost in the everyday shuffle of life. So good for everyone that this story didn’t.

Now, on another path entirely, please explain how this new feature on Substack will benefit you and help subscribers at the same time. Thanks Big Guy. I hope y’all had a good opportunity to unwind and took it.

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Bill, the sentences at the end are the sort for me. We never know what another person has going on. They may be a Nobel Prize winner or they may be the guy next door, but listening to them and understanding where they are at in life is the nexus point for me.

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Simply put, I just love reading your newsletter, even days afterwards. The way you write invites the reader to make up their mind, not "here is what you should think".

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