It’s not just banks that are preying on the unemployed, there’s a whole slew of conniving snakes out there doing their best to restore our faith in the basic rottenness of humanity.

The snakes in question here are identity thieves, who according to this article in the Chicago Tribune, are ramping up their efforts in our time of trouble, mostly through the use of fake job ads and other methods specifically targeted at the unemployed.

With unemployment soaring, identity thieves are increasingly preying on job seekers.

The scams run the gamut from fake help-wanted ads and job-search services to bogus résumé-posting Web sites, part of a new arsenal of weapons targeting millions of recently unemployed people.

“There are so many people out there who are desperate to find a job,” said Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit watchdog group based in San Diego. “Unfortunately, identity thieves are taking advantage of people in these uncertain times.”

Whether they are registering with employment agencies, responding to ads, posting résumés or surfing career sites for work, jobless people too often give up their Social Security numbers and other personal data, experts say.

Okay, according to ESPN, Manny Ramirez signed with the Dodgers for two years at $45 million dollars, but don’t freak out, that’s not per year, that’s for the whole long two years.

And this was after months of negotiations. I guess it took awhile for Scott Boras, his agent, to get the Dodgers up to 45. They were probably only offering 40 or something low like that before, and that would have been a real hardship for Manny. Imagine playing 162 three-hour baseball games a year for only $20 million a year?

ESPN’s site has a cool tool that will tell you how many years it’ll take you to make what Manny makes in a year. For instance, you can find out that if you make $80,000 a year, it will take you 281.25 years to make a Manny year. Unfortunately, if you only make $40,000 a year, it’s going to take you 562.5 years.

Or, if my math’s not mistaken, Manny’s making enough in one year to pay 562 people $40,000. Or did I get that wrong? And would it also follow that if he got 500 at bats, he would make over $40,000 each time he batted? Can that be right? I mean, does Manny Ramirez make more in two or three at bats than I’ve ever made in a year my entire life?

Either my math is bad, or I need a better agent. Hey, Boras. Oh nevermind.

Gee, job fairs are packed to the gills. Here’s a couple quotes from an article on the NPR site.

For the past four years, the Chamber of Commerce in Kernersville, N.C., has held a late winter job fair. This is the first year the town needed a team of police officers to direct traffic outside.

The job fair in Kernersville, a bedroom community between Winston-Salem and Greensboro, attracted about 1,000 people — more than double last year’s attendance.

They began lining up outside before the fair started. Some worked in construction until the housing market tanked. Others had high-tech jobs, until their companies downsized. And several — such as Tim Wiley — worked in North Carolina’s once-vibrant manufacturing sector, before their jobs moved overseas.

Of course, if you’re 58 like Drexel High, things can be a lot worse.

“I understand that at my age, I’m not the desired type,” he says. “So I’ll take anything as far as even entry level. I’m not afraid to clean the toilets either. All I want is a chance to compete.”

Meanwhile, in his annual quest to buy the Super Bowl, Daniel Snyder and the  Washington Redskins recently signed Albert Haynesworth to a one hundred million dollar contract because he’s so damn good at knocking quarterbacks on their butts. Hell, he did it eight times alone, just last year, and that’s a skill you cannot live without, depression, recession, or boom time.

Now that he got his man, I wonder if Daniel Snyder has enough money left to give Drexel High a job cleaning toilets.

Or how about the Yankees? Their projected payroll for next season is actually going to be less than last year’s, so even though they spent $423.5 million on long-term contracts for Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, they freed up some money and ought to be able to give Drexel High a job cleaning toilets.

There’s a lot of money out there, but you’re not going to get it at a job fair. Sorry, Drexel. Can you hit?