As “Journalist” I would think that the ability to reach a mass audience as the “fourth estate of government” requires you to investigate the other three branches of government. The current issue with the State’s unemployment office is a ploy by the executive branch to deflate the unemployment numbers for the state. By making it nearly impossible to reach the Workforce Solutions department, the state will be able to artificially increase the appearance of individuals working. The “fiscal cliff”, the new tax year, online system changes, and call center policy changes have worked to create a “perfect storm” of manufactured communication issues. When the state/DWS representatives say “the system is working as expected” this may be true but, insulting that the expected working results of the system will be to disenfranchise the unfortunate individuals who are out of work.

Concerned resident