Long Term Unemployed being ignored

I saw a rather startling cartoon the other day. A man was speaking from a window set high in an office building to a group of people gathered below. The group was labeled "Unemployed" and the building was labeled "economy". His comment was "Don't take this the wrong way but we've made it without you." Or something like that.

And it seems like the world has moved on without me. At least the world of work. And that is the challenge - to convince someone, somewhere, that you have value and skills to offer that will improve the position of that company - to keep from disappearing from the radar screen of employers.

I don't have the luxury of retiring - I'm 44 years old. I need to find work somewhere to keep paying for the house, to help my kids through college, to build my own path, dollar by dollar towards retirement.

Why are the long term unemployed being ignored? Why isn't this being addressed? Why would we want a group of people, numbering in the thousands, even millions, to become poor? What could possible be gained from this?

Are you listening? Can you shut your televisions, I pads, Blackberries, cell phones off for just one minute and notice your neighbors around you?