Mike Duffy A fascinating documentary of life for those that are educated and unexpectedly unemployed. The older you are the less likely your will find a job. Any debate in congress will show a dearth of any leadership on this issue. Quite simply, the leaders really don't give a damn. The politicians have jobs and their friends have jobs. That's all that really matters. I felt for all of those people and thought afterwards that the government should have a job for anyone that wants to work. Even if it has to be paid my increasing my taxes. The existing state of affairs is wrong.Read any newspaper and it seems the American politicians answer to the unemployment problem is allowing more companies to outsource, adding more immigrants (to supposedly do the jobs Americans refuse to do, nothing to do with lowering wages) and lowering tariffs so that those foreign workers can continue working those outsourced "what used-to-be American" jobs. Does that make any sense? Doesn't to me either, until you realize those politicians work for corporations and pay lip service to ordinary voters. We have a different breed of American leader compared to those during the depression. The public wouldn't stand for immigration during that time and there also were tariffs. Even educated Jews facing persecution in Germany had difficulty immigrating to America during the 1930's because Americans knew that adding more immigrants in a time of high unemployment was exactly the wrong answer.One last observation. There are only a couple of reviews of this enlightening show that should have been seen by all Americans. Sad that shows like "True Blood" or "Game of Thrones" are so much easier to watch on television. It appears the media's real work is just to distract Americans from the issues that matter. Shows like this never get the publicity they deserve.

Michael_Elliott Hard Times: Lost on Long Island (2012) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Very good documentary from HBO taking a look at a group of people who are unemployed and have very little hope going forward. We follow these people as they look for work, fear losing their homes and wonder where the American dream went. I work with unemployed people so I am quite familiar with the stories being told here and I think for the most part the film does a very good job showing how tough it is out there. I guess you could say that the documentary could have covered someone who was making less than $20,000 a year and really had some major issues but that's only a small thing. For the most part the film really showed what it's like being unemployed and while no one ever really knows what it's like until they're the ones with a house payment coming up and can't pay it, the film does a good job at putting you in these people's shoes just to see what it's like. The documentary also digs in to how severe the entire situation is throughout the country and why things really don't seem to be getting any better and especially since we can't help some of these people because various politicians would rather argue than actually get something done.

Danny Blankenship HBO once again does it this doc "Lost on Long Island", Hard Times captures the real time life and day to day struggles of people who have been out of work for over a year and have or almost lost it all! Watching this you will feel the emotional impact and sorrow of these people it's a heartfelt and touching doc. The film has focus on citizens of Long Island, NY as once working class it proves with job losses that one by one the American Dream is slipping away sadly.Showcased is how couples that were laid off at the start of the 2008 recession deal with getting behind on their mortgage payments and struggle to put food on the table. As many six figure salary company people have lost their jobs and the struggle to find work is a long hard process because of the slow job market and the people's age. And as the film states the longer that one goes without work the harder it becomes to get a job. It proves never take anything for granted once gone it may not return.The losses take emotional and physical tolls on everyone it's sad to see that life has to be that way for unemployed people this doc is touching and emotionally eye opening as you feel sorrow for the people showcased. As it's so true the good old working days of the middle class is pretty much gone and a dead class, still big thumbs up to HBO for making such an eye opening doc.

edwagreen This is an excellent documentary concerning the human and economic factors affecting a segment of Long Island people during our current recession.You have to wonder if President Obama and Gov. Romney were listening to the stories of the affected citizens.We're dealing with professionals who thought they had captured the American dream. This documentary not only focuses on their economic woes of being unemployed, it also centers on the emotional and psychological problems brought about continuous unemployment.How do you deal with family and friends under these adverse conditions? The common statement that people know what they're going through is so wrong. One has to live it to see what these people, many of whom were well educated and successful, have apparently fallen through the cracks. The documentary emphasizes that the longer one remains unemployed, the less likely that they'll join the ranks of the employed.