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Unemployment rant
I know I'm supposed to be positive, but I really need to do this
The more I think about it, the dumber it seems: People who want to work, who want to add value to the world and earn an honest living CAN'T. Millions of us are in this boat, prohibited by "market forces" from providing for ourselves.
It's not like the old days when, during a recession, you could at least find something to bring in some cash and pay the bills. I remember a good friend of mine, a talented, educated guy delivering Chinese food for a couple of years after he graduated from college. That was back in '92-'93, when we were in a recession but there were still a few crappy jobs around.
Have you tried getting a crappy job these days? I wiped seven years off my education and a page off my resume to try and get a job at a gourmet deli. They're not hiring anyone but Mexicans, apparently. (Don't take that as anything xenophobic or racist -- the Mexicans are just trying to make a living like the rest of us.) I wiped two years of education off my resume to try and get in good with a FARKING TEMP AGENCY, and they have nothing for me despite the fact that I aced all their stupid skills tests on Word, Excel, and Access.
This totally SUCKS!!! I'm worried about paying my paltry, pared-to-the-bones bills, and the monied class is partying out in the Hamptons at their beach mansions and on their yachts. Hey, guys, you're welcome for the $800 billion bailout we little guys and our kids and grandkids gave you. No need to thank us or anything. (F*ckin' a-holes!)
And where are "our leaders" in all this? Why isn't any politician asking the monied class to make some small sacrifice in the form of slightly higher taxes? Where is all the stimulus money? You would think that the first $350 billion of that would have created a couple of million jobs by now, but it has apparently vanished into the black hole of corruption called the federal contracting system and made its way upward to the rich instead of creating jobs.
The whole thing is so F*(KING STUPID!!! It's absurd. It will be looked at in some future enlightened society as having been akin to the Dark Ages or the age of slavery. People are getting kicked into the streets by the millions while the rich party, oblivious or just unconcerned. The way I'm feeling today, though, I doubt there will ever be such a society. We're going to blow ourselves up first because we're so dumb.
(Sorry for the negativity. Just needed to blow off a little steam.)
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Comments
comments
What I can't understand is that we can give BILLIONS in foreign aid to non Americans, and yet give nothing to citizens here when they are in need. It is also a sign of insanity when the government just gives away money, hoping things will get better. I mean, if you're low on money, shouldn't you try to save rather than spend ? Besides, most of the tax revenue comes from the citizens working in the trenches, doesn't it ? The real problem here is the control that the banks have over the government. I think things are much worse than what the government lets on. The only people working who make a decent salary these days is government workers, and they don't produce anything !
Yup, yup, yup, and yup
We give way too much money in foreign aid (including military protection that we provide to rich countries like Germany, Japan, and South Korea), and we just handed a trillion dollars to the banks. I also agree with you completely about the government books. Part of the reason the economy and markets were so healthy in the '90s was that the federal budget was coming into balance for the first time in 100 years.
Not all government workers are worthless. Many do provide necessary services, but we should have more cops, teachers, and firefighters and fewer bureaucrats.
Thanks for your comment.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Hey dude. I tweaked my blog
Hey dude. I tweaked my blog a bit (adding the cheap part in parenthesis). By the way, my post wasn't meant to be a knock on older generations. It was more in response to an article that received more than 2,000 diggs about how college degree are worthless now (I just earned my degree). I simply meant it to be more of an emphasis on how employers are looking for people who are comfortable with social media, and our generation has been using it since we were born. The original actually went into how all the interviewers I've interviewed with ask some of the dumbest questions on the topic, and about how it's vital to learn and absorb every thing you can about new social technology. But I took a lot of it out to save time. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I couldn't agree with you more on those douche bag bankers who get a free pass at life because "they're too big to fail." I hope you find work soon.
No offense taken
Your generation and mine are actually similar in the sense that we both graduated from college into a world with no jobs. The difference is that your generation is much bigger and it will be harder for you guys to get your seats at the table even after the recession ends; I feel for you. The more I get to know your generation, the less of a grumpy old man I'm becoming.
College degrees will never be "worthless." The knowledge you gain and the friends you make are truly priceless, whether or not you end up landing a job right out of school.
Thanks for reading, and come on back any time. I bookmarked your blog.
Good luck to you, too.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Surplus monies...hmmmmmm..
My husband's company is shutting down his plant (set to close in Sept.)and I just found out that the cobra will be affordable at $140 per person, per month BECAUSE 75% OF THE COBRA WILL BE PAID BY STIMULOUS FUNDS!!! THEY'RE FREAKING PAYING OVER $300 IN STIMULOUS PER MONTH TO CARRY THE UNEMPLOYED, UNINSURED FOR (get this) 9 GLORIOUS MONTHS!!!
I only learned this through a un/employment rag that had an article about it advising readers to: "check out self-purchased insurance because it may cheaper....
The world has gone crazy. We just can't cope with it because we're not crazy.
So that's where the stimulus money went, huh
Straight into the pockets of the greedy health insurance companies.
Well, thanks for clearing that up. I wonder if I could use this site to spur some kind of social action. It's ridiculous how corrupt things have gotten.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Chuck How long have you been
Chuck
How long have you been unemployed? What kind of professional job are you looking to persue? I am going on 8 weeks and I need to find work to pay the bills. I can't get unemployment check in MD because My last job was only 5 month. Before that I was on unemployment for 11 months. I have been going on interviews in the IT field and it seems some employers expect you to know more in the skills set in my computer field. So no offers yet. I want to work hard so like you said I have to take anything (job) now to pay the bills.
I've been unemployed or underemployed...
... for almost three years now. I have skills, experience, and a track record of success in a variety of realms. The only area where I am weak (and I have been working on it) is politics. I tend to step on toes trying to do the right thing for the enterprise, and I'm an arrogant prick sometimes. It has cost me jobs. Like I said, I'm working on it.
It seems that I have been exiled from corporate America. Three hiring managers at big companies have indicated a desire to hire me, then HR nixes it for some reason that they never tell me. Maybe there's something in my background check. Could it be that expunged misdemeanor I got at 18? Would they really be that petty and vindictive? It is absolutely true that I have never been convicted of anything, and if I ever find out that I was not hired on the basis of an expunged misdemeanor 22 years ago, I will sue the living F*(k out of those companies and the companies that provided them with that legally sealed information.
Anyway, in answer to your question: My ideal job would be working for an NGO like the Soros Foundation, to have a sense of mission in the grand scheme of things. My education and background are perfect for those kinds of NGOs. My role would straddle the realms of analyst and PR/marketing. That may sound strange, but it's not, really. A solid report should attract attention (and grants and donations).
I would be open to an IT role, and I have plenty of skills and experience there, too, more than most people who call themselves techies. What interests me the most is data mining and reporting -- grabbing relevant data from huge data sets and turning it into useful information.
This is going to sound arrogant, but I often rue the fact that I'm scrambling for a job, not making the hiring decisions. It seems like most of the people who interview me aren't fit to shine my shoes, and I know that a couple people who laid me off in the past are not.
That sounds terrible, I know, but I can't wrap my head around the fact that someone who works as hard as I do and who has an extensive and deep set of skills can't seem to find a job.
Or maybe I just suck, but I refuse to believe that.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Hang in there Chuck
I met some professioals here (an accountant/CPA) who can't land a job in their profession for 9 months. Like I read and experience here it seems more of the employers are demanding in the job description of wanting the applicant to be a master of all technology. I have a Network Server Administraton background.
Of course in my field you have to keep up with the latest in Microsoft and Cisco and such. I don't know anyone who can master the skill set they put in the job description. Of course I have an aptitude to learn, but it takes some time to master. Lots of the tech jobs here in the DC/ VA/MD area require extensive security clearances which are hard to obtain. I share you frustration about the some of the so called new jobs today that demand a lot of you. Sure everybody wants a good salary. I will still apply in my field but I have to be humble and take a lower paying part-job (UPS package handler) to feel some self-worth and esteem now. Good luck and keep persisting
Good luck
Lower paying jobs are hard to find these days. You'll see.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Professional Jobs
Chuck
I am sure you experience the same obstacles and barriers to get a professional or semi-professional job. (Now that is ($30,000 year and up) I got to lower my salary requirements. I used to make from $24 - $27 an hour. Now I am hoping for to get this part-time UPS packing job for $9.00 today. I want to work hard, not to mention pay my bills like everyone else and feel some self-worth by working. I still want to improve myself to get those professional paying jobs even if if I sacrifice my self to corporate rules and politics. At the end of the day you try not to take your work politics to your home life.
You're very lucky
I wish there were a $9/hr. job in my area. I've applied for a million crappy jobs and haven't gotten one. Pounding pavement gets about a 98 percent, "We're not hiring," response. The other two percent let you fill out an application out of pity.
I read this book called Love and Garbage by Milan Kundera some years ago. It's the story of a dissident writer working as a garbageman in the Eastern Bloc. You see, back in commie days, the dissidents and troublemakers were given jobs as garbagemen. In our wonderful capitalist system, once you get excommunicated from corporate America and put on whatever black list I must be on (based on three retracted job offers) you can't even work as a garbageman. They don't give a f*ck if you starve.
When life hands you sh*t, make fertilizer.
Still got to wait.
Find out UPS packing job starts at $8.50. I still got to wait for an interview. I used to laugh at guys I see in PA and MD standing with a sign (going out of business) Now I am going to apply for the job here in MD standing for 5 hours in the weekend to attract customers. (Paying $9 an hour) I need the money like everyone else. Now no job is beneath me as I have no income now. I found these openings on craigslist. I will still hustle and look for a good paying IT job. Ranting and expressing your frustration is okay online and out of the office, but of course you show your positive game face on interviews. Keep you up to date.