How bad is the economy?

[Richard Toms]

I still have a career delivering the good products of drinking, but they are talking about cutting back a lot of the benefits I currently get. Which really sucks! They are talking about cutting out completely of: dental, vision insurance and pension benefit. They are also talking about making us take a pay cut of 5 to 10% of our current pay. I don't know what the crap is coming too, but the more it is becoming, I don't want to be here.

 

[Dave King 2]

I think there a lot of jobs out there with little pay, or working for cash part time. The problem is there are very few jobs that will support a family. Some people are better off on welfare than a low paying job. There was a story in my area about a women on assistance who was trying to better herself by working a low pay job. All she could find. The little bit she was making was to much so they took her assistance away. She could not make it on her low paying job and had to quit to get back on assistance. The whole system is so screwed up that it doesnt make sense any more. Everything is not black and white and there isn't anyone with a brain in their head running the system anymore. I know there are dead beats on welfare, but sometimes people get trapped in it and cant get out because the lack of good paying jobs. You are not going to pay rent, keep up a car and pay the necessary monthly bills we all have on 10.00-12.00 dollars an hour. With the recession we are still in and all the lost jobs to foreign countries, finding a decent job in most places is very hard if not impossible to find.

 

[Johnny O]

It's a double-edged sword too. I own a small business employing 18 people. I'd love to pay them money but in this economy our customers won't pay more money. I am not sitting on a pile of lottery winnings and just doing this for fun.

 

[Tom Schindler]

It isn't going to get better until Obama is gone. His "get around legislation by regulating policies" are keeping people jobless.

I have to disagree. I truly feel that this is the results of Bush's policies over his 8 year reign in office. Our resident "experts" here claimed that, during the Bush years, anything done by a president will take 4 to 8 years see results.



So, 4 to 8 years after Bush entered office, the economy went to hell. 4 years after Bush left office (ironically enough, that will be 4 years Obama went into office) the economy gets better, statistics say Obama helped.



You can not blame everything on Obama. He took the office while it was in a mess.



Is he making the right decisions? I honestly don't know. I can't see how he could do any worse than the previous bafoon that was in the White House.



My main point is that the media claims unemployment is at record numbers, but with no "specialized training", Theresa got a full time job with full benefits, vacation, sick pay, 401(k), etc. in only 2 weeks. Now we have to deal with telling other perspective employers that she is working full time and is not interested.



If there are no jobs in your specialized field, you have done one of two things wrong.



1, You chose the wrong profession.

2, You did not research it well enough.



If you can't find a job in your field, get a job outside of your field. $12.00/hr is better money than $0.00/hr.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

The Bush-term economy had 3 eras:



1) Immediate, drastic decline (a crash by most terms) due to 9-11.



2) Recovery and prosperity 2002 thru 2007



3) 2008 - Crash of the housing market due to toxic lending, which also caused collapse of banking and lending giants



Of the three things above, the way I see it, Bush can only be fairly tagged with being responsible for one...#2, the recovery and prosperity post 9-11.



The way I see it, he and his administration can't be blamed for the financial turmoil and market corrections caused by 9-11.



Nor can Bush and his administration be held responsible for the toxic loans made largely during his administration, that were made legal by changes in lending laws made almost a decade early under the Clinton era. There was this idea under Clinton that everyone should be able to own a home, and the lending laws were changed because of that. No more 10% down; the introduction of interest-only loans; commonplace of rolling closing costs into the loan; liberal qualification requirements; etc. All of this created a house of cards that fed itself. More people entering the market meant a boom in the market, which drove new home starts and drove up prices, and equity of existing homes. That made people feel confident in being over-extended since they saw everyone's home values increasing, year after year (heck, month after month). But, everything has a ceiling...and like almost any ponzi scheme, the last ones in tend to get burned the worst.



The jobs are out there. The economy is improving. The biggest threats to our economy and what drives the possibility of a double-dip recession are the Obama Healthcare "Reform" and the possible repeal of the Bush tax cuts (though they are still here for some time).



We need smaller govt, with less taxation, especially on those currently paying AMT and those that are business owners and employ people. Trickle-down does work. Like it or not, for the poor to get richer, the rich also have to get richer. That's just the way it is, IMHO. If you want prosperity at all levels, it has to start at the top...because that is the engine of our economy.



TJR

 

[Johnny O]

So, 4 to 8 years after Bush entered office, the economy went to hell. 4 years after Bush left office (ironically enough, that will be 4 years Obama went into office) the economy gets better, statistics say Obama helped.

Using that same timeline you could say that the economy was fine until the Democrats took over Congress and got better after the Republicans took over Congress. Just sayin'....

If there are no jobs in your specialized field, you have done one of two things wrong.



1, You chose the wrong profession.

2, You did not research it well enough.

Very true, which also points out the fact that our public schools turn out exceedingly few people who are employable at a decent wage without additional training or school.

 

[Les]

Very true, which also points out the fact that our public schools turn out exceedingly few people who are employable at a decent wage without additional training or school.

This has nothing to do with our public schools. We have no factories and technology changes have created jobs with more precise skills.

 

[H D]

To say that one person's luck in finding a job quickly is evidence of laziness or bad choices is rather offensive. There are so many factors that go into a job search/hiring process that it is impossible not to add a factor of good fortune.



I feel for anyone presently unemployed and while I hold the responsibility for finding a job solely with that person, I do not pretend to know the reasons they are in that position.



Career-wise, if you are chronically unemployed, underemployed, or switching jobs, that's completely your own fault and is evidence of bad planning or lack of effort. In this current economy, though, I'm going to give people the benefit of the doubt. Keep making contacts and keep making yourself visible and take what's available (even if its not ideal).

 

[Johnny O]

This has nothing to do with our public schools. We have no factories and technology changes have created jobs with more precise skills.

Then schools should be teaching those skills. :haveabeer:

 

[Richard L]

All Presidents inherit from their predicessors. George Bush inherited Clinton's boom economy while it was in a downswing, and Clinton inherited a slow growing economy from Bush Sr.



The reality is that the office of President has very little to do with the state of the nations economy....That's Congresses job, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve, and for the most part, they are only looking out for the finances of the Government, not private businesses.



Remember that Bush inherited a lot of the corporate crooks who where giving investors false claims as to the corporate finances which included the likes of Enron, etc. That was the SEC's job and they didn't do a very good job...and for the most part they still don't. Then there was Bernie Madoff who Made-Off with hundreds of millions of dollars with his Ponzi scheme. That same crime has happened every few years for decades and it seems the SEC is totally clueless, even when warned about the suspicions as they were in the Madoff case.



The government has always gone after the small fish like the individual tax payers when the truely big fish a let go because they have all the stolen money to pay for high priced lawyers



What was that famous line from WallStreet (the movie)..."Greed is Good". I think they should have added the line... "An incompetent government is even better".



I'm sure if any of the Presidents could have done anything about the economy they would have done it. In the end they are as helpless as the rest of us our.



...Rich

 

[Thomas Rogers]

JohnnyO said:

Then schools should be teaching those skills

Most public schools do teach what is needed (as a basis) for many of the in-demand careers of today.



There is still a rather large call for accountants, doctors, chemists, nurses, scientists and engineers in many fields.



These careers require degrees, and to get the degrees those in high school need to prepare with college-track courses, AP and honors classes, etc.



The problem is that very few students are driven to take such courses, because even fewer seem to have any real interest in these fields.



Somewhere along the way this country took on a "don't do it unless it feels good" way of thinking. The idea that one would train and get educated for a GOOD JOB that PAYS WELL as simply a means to an ends seems to have vanished.



We've all heard the old saying: "Find something you like to do, make that your job, and you will never 'work' a day in your life."



Well, my dad gave me a different outlook. He said: "They call it 'work' for a reason. If it was fun, they wouldn't have to pay you!"



Yeah, I know, that's an old-fashioned way of thinking about work, but is it really the WRONG way to think about it? Work, to me pays the bills. I happen to do something that most of the time I do actually enjoy.



There are jobs out there. If you want one that pays pretty well, that you will absolutely love, and that requires few skills nor higher education then your options will likely be very limited, IMHO.



TJR

 

[Les]

Then schools should be teaching those skills

They do, in colleges or trade schools. Public schools give you the basics to function as an adult (hopefully). If you want to specialize in something it takes time, effort, and money to succeed.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Hugh,



To say that someone chose a job that was not in demand is not a bad choice is wrong. (I could not think of a better way to word it)



I never called anyone lazy, but spending months looking for a job is insane. Jobs are out there.



I know it doesn't pay what you should be making, but a little money is better than no money.





Tom

 

[gary s]

"You guys need to come to the NE Ohio area. There are plenty of jobs here."



any of these available? :bwahaha:



[Broken External Image]:

 

[H D]

After I graduated college, I spent a year unemployed after moving to Atlanta. I promise it was not for a lack of trying or for applying to any particular types of jobs. I was begging to work at fast food and dine-in restaurants, chain automotive places, janitorial, supervisory and management and every position in between. There wasn't a business within 20 miles of my house I didn't go to. There wasn't a job posting in metro-Atlanta that I didn't apply to. I did find a job 8 months in at American Eagle part time selling skinny jeans to young men, but it was only seasonal for back-to-school.



To imply that people are not doing something right because they don't find a job immediately is crazy. If you have an all-catching sure-fire way to find a job in less than a month, you should write a book. It would certainly be a best seller.

 

[Tom Schindler]

To imply that people are not doing something right because they don't find a job immediately is crazy.

My wife found a job after searching for 2 weeks. If there are no jobs in you area, move to where there are jobs.



Gary, you aren't skilled enough to get a job with my employer. We don't need any car washers.





Tom

 

[gary s]

"Gary, you aren't skilled enough to get a job with my employer. We don't need any car washers."



interesting. you didn't say that when i was washing your ride.......



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Kevin Lang]

Most public schools do teach what is needed (as a basis) for many of the in-demand careers of today.

Maybe if you're talking about public universities, because public K-12 is a joke. Maryland leads the nation on high school AP test scores is what I hear now, and our public school system is laughably bad. I think that can say something about the nation in aggregate as well.



It's not even PC to have ambition in public schools these days. Even competitive sports are dying out. Sadly, my local school system (county) believes in lauding students who go from failing a class to passing a class. If you're a student who has straight As, you get nothing. Bs & Cs? Nothing. You don't get the field trip or the free pizza. You get to sit in class & pay for lunch like the sucker you are, you who tries to strive for excellence.

I'm sure this doesn't teach our youth that it's better to slack off and shirk ambition than to actually strive for excellence. (Sarcasm)



Not to mention the bogus nature of modern "Language Arts", "Mathematics" (Aka "How to use a TI-84+"), and "Science" in our K-12. The teachers that can teach real skills have their hands tied by the curriculum. 'Tis brutal.



Jobs may grow on trees, but the low-hanging fruit can be poisonous. In lamented youth I worked shoveling boxes at UPS, as I needed the money badly & forthwith.



When I then took my first real IT job, I had to explain why I went to work as a navvy in a job unrelated to my discipline of study. "It paid the bills for college" barely cut it, so I shudder to think what it could mean to someone who does not have that excuse.



:soap:

 

[Thomas Rogers]

KL,



I guess I am out of touch or blessed by being in a area with great schools. I'm surprised MD, which is so close to southeastern PA, that you see things differently. In our area, the high schools are tops, with lots of very good AP and honor courses and teachers.



Our son goes off to college in the fall. He has most of his first year under his belt already with AP courses. Courses that would otherwise cost thousands each all paid for, for just the cost of taking the test...



TJR

 

[Johnny O]

If there are no jobs in you area, move to where there are jobs.

Which is why the population of my county has dropped over 30% in the last 25 years.