Naturally the "9-percent" unemployment rate is a bunch of bullshit. It's supposed to be "good news" for so many people to desperately compete for jobs, with about only about 1 in 5 able to get an available opening.
If these assholes in our government don't reverse course, expect the Tunisia or Egyptian solution to hit here.
There is no "best of times." It's bad out here.
A letter writer calls b.s. on some of the article:
With many fine points made, and good information.
One thing troubles me though -- the author's statement that if you are still employed now, you don't have to worry....not for 14 years? That is ridiculous. It's absurdly broad, and doesn't apply to most industries, not to mention it does not take into consideration personal issues or issues specific to certain parts of the economy, or regions.
If you have a job, and just think "I'm sittin' pretty!", you are a fool.
I have a couple of friends who just lost their jobs over Christmas -- laid off of a sizable publishing company who offshored all their jobs (yes, the ENTIRE 190 person company) to Lahore, Pakistan. Why? Because editors in the US pulled down $50K salaries (in this area) but in Lahore, they can pay $8-10K for an English speaking editor, not to mention vastly lower costs for office space, utilities, etc.
My friends had college degrees, PLUS master's degrees, PLUS one had a J.D. They were all highly educated, technologically adept, internet-savvy. The company wasn't failing; it was superbly profitable. They just DID NOT NEED THEIR US WORKERS ANYMORE.
If anyone had asked either of these women -- in their 50s, and profoundly shocked to find themselves unemployed at their ages -- each with over 24 years with that company -- and each virtually unemployable in this area, in their specialty -- FOURTEEN YEARS AGO if this could have happened, they would have laughed their asses off at you.
Indeed, one of them told me only this weekend: "I need to apologize to you, because some years back, YOU were out of work and I thought you were a screw up or lazy, or deserved to get laid off -- and when you had a hard time finding a new job, I was sure you were too lazy to really look. Now THAT IT IS ME UNEMPLOYED, I realize even hard-working good employees get let go -- and that finding a new job is brutally hard." I accepted her apology, but that's the way it always is - -isn't it?
Always easy to think IT WILL NOT BE ME. It can't be ME....I am smart! I am hard working! I have a solid work ethic! I went to college and got lots of degrees! I did internships! I'm up on all the latest technology, social networking, gadgets!
BUT IT CAN BE YOU. Yes you, Paul Wiseman. Yes, you Derek Kravitz. Yes, you Kerry Lauerman.
Yes YOU who are reading this. It could be you.
From where I sit, things are not getting better -- that is an illusion of depressed people who overspent during the holidays because they'd rather not face reality (or they realize they can just declare bankruptcy on all those credit cards they used!). There is no way our economy got "better" because nothing REAL has gotten any better -- we don't manufacture anymore of our own stuff -- we haven't called back any of the unemployed -- we still have an unemployment rate of over 18%.
Phony optimism is worse than realistic pessimism. Time everybody started acknowledging that.
Of course it is NOT better. That's why these "feel-good" statements from businesses and economists are so important. They are trying to jumpstart the economy by bringing back consumer confidence.
As long as there are few new jobs being created, consumer confidence isn't going to come back.
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