No, this is not job survival as in "disaster hits while at the office", but rather some information on working and continuing to be employed while SHTF Lite takes place around us.
I have several times online about people who are out of work and how they have been unable to find work where they live. They have my sympathy; I have been out of regular work since February. I work three jobs on contract basis to support my family.
However, there is an outlet some people are unable or unwilling to take. Move.
Throughout history, the great migrations, both in recorded and ancient history revolve around people having to move due to famine, drought or lack of money/work.
We have become so accustomed to living and working where we are for as long as we please, we have forgotten how our ancestors lived. They often were forced to migrate to new jobs, work, fields and elsewhere to feed their family.
I received an email from a friend in Wisconsin who could not find IT work in his field where he lived. I pointed out that Texas was not suffering as badly as the rest of the country and had he considered looking for a job there and relocated. Absolutely not was the response. Texas was full of backwards hicks who elect George Bush governor. How dare I ask him to consider living there. Besides, he had friends and family in Wisconsin.
Here's the deal. Get over yourself. If you have children dependent upon you, you get off the pot, and get on the road to where the jobs are. Don't move until you have an offer, but for crying out loud, take a look elsewhere for work.
When I was unemployed for a good part of 2002, I looked literally everywhere. New York, Ohio, Oregon, Georgia, etc. I only cared about a decent job which would pay for itself by relocating. I was willing to pay my own expenses for the move as long as the job I was going to be somewhat secure.
If you are going to survive, sometimes you have to "Bug Out" to find a job or work. Think about our neighbors to the south who illegally cross the border and are willing to risk arrest to find work. Will they replace us because they are adapting and we are not? Something to think about.
Good luck,
Showing posts with label job survival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job survival. Show all posts
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Prepare: Job and Credit Survival
Some may ask, "Where have you been? Why no posts for the last week or so?". Others probably did not notice; most have thier own problems these days and spending time reading blogs is not on the To-Do list.
First, the unemployment numbers keep going up. It's "officially" over 10 percent nationwide, with many states reporting double digits in the high teens, such as Michigan, California, Oregon and others.
The layoffs are continuing across the country and they will keep up until the balance sheets look good enough to see stocks rise. "See, everything is swell now".
Let's get back to reality. Layoffs will continue. Stop clinging to the idea that your job is "safe and secure". And it's not just private enterprise. Cities and states are running out of money that means that those teachers, cops, firemen and yes bureaucrats are going to start getting let go too.
What's worse is that many jobs are not coming back. Sure we have been losing manufacturing jobs for years, but add to that jobs in finance, insurance, and services are going bye-bye now too. With the current shenanigans going on in DC, don't expect there to be an uptick which creates new jobs and industries any time soon.
Even the Chairman of the Fed says that this will continue until 2011 or longer.
What are these people thinking?
Let's add to that the financial industry. Your credit cards, car loans and mortgages. Some of these companies have their heads on straight. They are working with their customer to find a way for them to keep their home and car anyway possible. I applaud those companies.
The credit card companies are in La-La Land. For customers falling behind on their "minimum payments" they are raising their interest rates. We are talking 18 - 24 percent interest rates. The worse car loan I ever had as a young man was 9.5 percent. Credit card interest at 24 percent? How do they expect anyone to pay that back?
And what's more, the credit card companies are moving quickly to charge off accounts and send them to law firms for collection. Great. What's next? Loan sharks breaking legs?
Have you ever spoken with a credit card company before? If you have a balance, they ask how much can you pay right now. They offer a free "check by phone". All we need is the past due amount of $3214.92, please. Can we set that up today? Sure, let me go sell a kidney and I will get back to you.
Then they have the nerve to ask, "Do you have a friend or relative you can get the money from? Or do you have retirement you can borrow against?". Sure, why don't I rent out my children for hard labor. I will get that money to you right away. The credit card companies will be asking for debtors prisons in the next session of Congress mark my words.
Hey credit card companies! How about you eat the late charges, over limit fees and lower your interest rates to single digits? Didn't think so.
These are the same companies who received huge loans and payouts from TARP courtesy of me and you. Granted, some refused loans and others paid them back, but where was our loan or rescue money?
Speaking of which, I don't want charity - let me keep some of what I earned in the form of tax relief. How about we freeze income taxes and tax withholding for one year. Guess what? Spending like you have never seen before.
Sure, many of us would use that windfall to pay down debt, buy food and save. But there would be spending - we are Americans after all.
But we can't have that. Our money is needed overseas, in the pockets of bankers and special interests groups who have never held a job or earned a dime in their life.
I have said before, I work three jobs. Sometimes I get paid on time other times not. I don't plan on ever having a standard, 9-5, get paid on the 15Th and 30Th, job again. Those days are over. Not by my choice. If someone called today and offered me $100,000 a year with benefits, I would be at their office before the phone hung up. They have us like rats in a maze.
This is life in America. I still am not discouraged. I am still optimistic. I still believe. Why?
Because our oppressors will starve by their own rules and requirements before they can break us. They can't think outside of the box while we lost ours to foreclosure years ago. They need the revenue, interest payments, minimum balances and late payments which are not coming any longer. We got used to less, unreliable, devalued money years ago. We will survive.
Systemic failure is imminent. Get your house in order and get ready.
Next - crop failure, weather patterns and food shortages coming this fall.
First, the unemployment numbers keep going up. It's "officially" over 10 percent nationwide, with many states reporting double digits in the high teens, such as Michigan, California, Oregon and others.
The layoffs are continuing across the country and they will keep up until the balance sheets look good enough to see stocks rise. "See, everything is swell now".
Let's get back to reality. Layoffs will continue. Stop clinging to the idea that your job is "safe and secure". And it's not just private enterprise. Cities and states are running out of money that means that those teachers, cops, firemen and yes bureaucrats are going to start getting let go too.
What's worse is that many jobs are not coming back. Sure we have been losing manufacturing jobs for years, but add to that jobs in finance, insurance, and services are going bye-bye now too. With the current shenanigans going on in DC, don't expect there to be an uptick which creates new jobs and industries any time soon.
Even the Chairman of the Fed says that this will continue until 2011 or longer.
What are these people thinking?
Let's add to that the financial industry. Your credit cards, car loans and mortgages. Some of these companies have their heads on straight. They are working with their customer to find a way for them to keep their home and car anyway possible. I applaud those companies.
The credit card companies are in La-La Land. For customers falling behind on their "minimum payments" they are raising their interest rates. We are talking 18 - 24 percent interest rates. The worse car loan I ever had as a young man was 9.5 percent. Credit card interest at 24 percent? How do they expect anyone to pay that back?
And what's more, the credit card companies are moving quickly to charge off accounts and send them to law firms for collection. Great. What's next? Loan sharks breaking legs?
Have you ever spoken with a credit card company before? If you have a balance, they ask how much can you pay right now. They offer a free "check by phone". All we need is the past due amount of $3214.92, please. Can we set that up today? Sure, let me go sell a kidney and I will get back to you.
Then they have the nerve to ask, "Do you have a friend or relative you can get the money from? Or do you have retirement you can borrow against?". Sure, why don't I rent out my children for hard labor. I will get that money to you right away. The credit card companies will be asking for debtors prisons in the next session of Congress mark my words.
Hey credit card companies! How about you eat the late charges, over limit fees and lower your interest rates to single digits? Didn't think so.
These are the same companies who received huge loans and payouts from TARP courtesy of me and you. Granted, some refused loans and others paid them back, but where was our loan or rescue money?
Speaking of which, I don't want charity - let me keep some of what I earned in the form of tax relief. How about we freeze income taxes and tax withholding for one year. Guess what? Spending like you have never seen before.
Sure, many of us would use that windfall to pay down debt, buy food and save. But there would be spending - we are Americans after all.
But we can't have that. Our money is needed overseas, in the pockets of bankers and special interests groups who have never held a job or earned a dime in their life.
I have said before, I work three jobs. Sometimes I get paid on time other times not. I don't plan on ever having a standard, 9-5, get paid on the 15Th and 30Th, job again. Those days are over. Not by my choice. If someone called today and offered me $100,000 a year with benefits, I would be at their office before the phone hung up. They have us like rats in a maze.
This is life in America. I still am not discouraged. I am still optimistic. I still believe. Why?
Because our oppressors will starve by their own rules and requirements before they can break us. They can't think outside of the box while we lost ours to foreclosure years ago. They need the revenue, interest payments, minimum balances and late payments which are not coming any longer. We got used to less, unreliable, devalued money years ago. We will survive.
Systemic failure is imminent. Get your house in order and get ready.
Next - crop failure, weather patterns and food shortages coming this fall.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Prepare: Job Survival
To me, prepping is the real world and it is what I have been working on for years now. It started when I read Robinson Crusoe or Swiss Family Robinson that the bug got me. Then I moved on to Alas Babylon, Lucifer's Hammer, the original Stand (1976?), Damnation Alley (the book of course), a bunch of John Christopher books (remember those?) and it has been downhill since.
Until I had a family and children, I never took prepping really serious. I figured if it was just me I could live off a backpack and scavenging. But with kids you realize its a different ball game. They call it avoidance - not avoiding a problem but trying to avoid the effects of a problem, financial depression, civil war, nuclear attack, terrorism, etc.
One thing I rarely talk about is what I do for a living. I have some very strong opinions on work and whenever I talk with someone else who "preps" or is into surviving the worse, I find that their view of work and employment is the most glaring contradiction to the whole prepping mentality.
Here you have a person who on one hand has carefully managed his or her finances and lives frugally. He has purchased extra food and supplies and carefully put them away for an emergency. He has thoughtfully made plans for his and his family's personal protection. He has made the best decisions knowing that if the poop hits the fan, he will neither have nor count on the government stepping in and bring help. He is ready and willing to be the first on his block to "tell FEMA and every other alphabet agency to take a hike he does not need their help".
But the second this same person thinks his livelihood, his profession, job or position at work is threatened, he goes into "Big Government Mode".
"The government needs to stop our jobs from going overseas! The government needs to guarantee jobs and security for working people! The government needs to provide money, aid, jobs, unemployment benefits, retraining and other programs because our jobs are going away! We had lots of good jobs here in (Michigan, Rhode Island, Maine, California, etc). The government needs to step in and make sure we get those kinds of jobs back here again!".
Where is the survivor, independent, tough it out, individual now? Forget the word jobs, and replace it with food, safety, security, water, power, heat and other material comforts. Instead of "forcing companies to keep jobs here", how about we "force those who have food to give some of it to those who failed to plan"? Any difference there? Who is the "sheeple" now?
If a person is truly into surviving and prepping, that includes work, career and backup plans for both. There is no job security or "secure jobs". Start thinking about Peak Employment if that helps. That maybe the U.S. economy has already hit Peak Employment and it will only get worse, work wise. What are you going to do now?
I don't want to sound heartless, but part of the survivor mentality and preparedness comes from being prepared for economic downturn and depression. It can happen. Blabbing about a lost job and demanding "someone" do something sounds like the whining of one who did not truly prepare.
I work two jobs and do a bunch of other things part time to make money on the side. Nobody owes me anything. The government, my employers, nothing. I have to make it on my own. I am my own job security. If I don't work 60 or 70 hours a week, we may lose everything.
Again, I don't want to sound mean or heartless. I know what it is like to have a wife, kids, a mortgage, bills and learn your job is going away. I know what it is like to get laid off and have no idea what in the world you are going to do the next day to put food on the table. Believe me, I know all too well.
But the idea around here is to improvise, adapt and overcome. That is survival and preparedness rolled into one. Whining and asking the government to fix your problems only invites a bigger problem into your life.
Have a good weekend,
Until I had a family and children, I never took prepping really serious. I figured if it was just me I could live off a backpack and scavenging. But with kids you realize its a different ball game. They call it avoidance - not avoiding a problem but trying to avoid the effects of a problem, financial depression, civil war, nuclear attack, terrorism, etc.
One thing I rarely talk about is what I do for a living. I have some very strong opinions on work and whenever I talk with someone else who "preps" or is into surviving the worse, I find that their view of work and employment is the most glaring contradiction to the whole prepping mentality.
Here you have a person who on one hand has carefully managed his or her finances and lives frugally. He has purchased extra food and supplies and carefully put them away for an emergency. He has thoughtfully made plans for his and his family's personal protection. He has made the best decisions knowing that if the poop hits the fan, he will neither have nor count on the government stepping in and bring help. He is ready and willing to be the first on his block to "tell FEMA and every other alphabet agency to take a hike he does not need their help".
But the second this same person thinks his livelihood, his profession, job or position at work is threatened, he goes into "Big Government Mode".
"The government needs to stop our jobs from going overseas! The government needs to guarantee jobs and security for working people! The government needs to provide money, aid, jobs, unemployment benefits, retraining and other programs because our jobs are going away! We had lots of good jobs here in (Michigan, Rhode Island, Maine, California, etc). The government needs to step in and make sure we get those kinds of jobs back here again!".
Where is the survivor, independent, tough it out, individual now? Forget the word jobs, and replace it with food, safety, security, water, power, heat and other material comforts. Instead of "forcing companies to keep jobs here", how about we "force those who have food to give some of it to those who failed to plan"? Any difference there? Who is the "sheeple" now?
If a person is truly into surviving and prepping, that includes work, career and backup plans for both. There is no job security or "secure jobs". Start thinking about Peak Employment if that helps. That maybe the U.S. economy has already hit Peak Employment and it will only get worse, work wise. What are you going to do now?
I don't want to sound heartless, but part of the survivor mentality and preparedness comes from being prepared for economic downturn and depression. It can happen. Blabbing about a lost job and demanding "someone" do something sounds like the whining of one who did not truly prepare.
I work two jobs and do a bunch of other things part time to make money on the side. Nobody owes me anything. The government, my employers, nothing. I have to make it on my own. I am my own job security. If I don't work 60 or 70 hours a week, we may lose everything.
Again, I don't want to sound mean or heartless. I know what it is like to have a wife, kids, a mortgage, bills and learn your job is going away. I know what it is like to get laid off and have no idea what in the world you are going to do the next day to put food on the table. Believe me, I know all too well.
But the idea around here is to improvise, adapt and overcome. That is survival and preparedness rolled into one. Whining and asking the government to fix your problems only invites a bigger problem into your life.
Have a good weekend,
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