This is because her brother-in-law apparently makes more money on unemployment than he does working (not sure if that is possible) and is excited about being unemployed because he and his wife can go out more.

I hear this from a lot of people, and it's usually because their brother or sister are "gaming the system."

Here's what I suspect is going on. Person A with the "deadbeat" sibling has never really had trouble holding down a job, feels like they are a hard worker, and have probably felt like they sacrificed things to keep their jobs (more face time at the office, so less time out or whatever).

Sibling may prioritize differently. So working crazy hours is not worth the security (in your bosses case that may be that for boss's brother, spending time with his wife is more important than taking a minimum wage crazy hours job.

Add a dash of sibling resentment, and this all comes out as "My brother loves unemployment! It means he and his wife can party all the time!" when the reality is probably more like, "My brother can't find a job that makes it worth quitting looking for a good job, at least they aren't destitute and are able to have a roof over their heads. He is grateful he gets to spend more time with his wife."

When I was on unemployment I think it was about $200-250/week. If we hadn't been childless back then there's no way we could have lived on it. (And even then, I went back to temping almost immediately.)

You might make more on unemployment ... if your previous job was part-time at minimum wage. Somehow, I don't think it works that way for most people.

And I watch Rush Limbaugh religiously. Really. I see him and start saying, "oh my God ... did he really say that? does he really think that? dear God in heaven, do people really believe this?"

Yeah, I was getting $388 (before taxes, but I didn't have them take any out and ended up only having to pay the feds about $800) a week on unemployment. My job before that paid me $690 a week after taxes. It was a huge comedown, but the fact I wasn't paying $400 a month in gas and for lunches, etc. really saved me a lot. The job I have now just barely pays more than unemployment after taxes, about $150 a month. I can live on it, but I have a second source of income of $6700 a year. I would have to give up a lot more (cell phone for a start) than I have if I didn't have that.

Oh, also about people eating healthy food if it's provided.

So, I think I told y'all that when mom retired she was finishing her Master Gardener class and doing community gardens around our hometown [link] She said they can't even get the kids to wash the crop before they're wanting to eat what they've planted. They've had to get a chef to come round and teach them how to cook the stuff up. (As a side note, I am so proud of my mom for this it's making me choke up a bit right now).

But, yeah. Kids will eat veggies.

These crocheted animals are one way your neighbor could channel some of her anger, Sophia.

ita, if you're not eating and can't face solid food, could you maybe manage a protein shake of some sort? liquid nutrition is better than none. Maybe something solid that's a small serving of something bland? (My stomach once went on strike and wouldn't accept solid food for ... four days, I think. Unlike you, I carry enough reserve fat to last longer than that.)

As I just said in a meeting yesterday, you can do gardening and cooking with kids, and they will be into it and eat everything, but you need the parents to have the ability and the interest to continue that when they are food shopping for the family.

And, in regard to unemployment, there's this guy. um ... privileged much?

Oh yeah, and I thought when I was on unemployment that it was based on 75% of my previous income (for some specific time period).