Sorry you lost your job cards.

I'm surprized that they didn't do this earlier. Most of the current existing jobs were durable enough to survive the last two or so years of mayhem. Sure, there may be many more job losses to come, but they may have missed the big wave, when unemployment (lest we forget forced retirement) doubled.

Man, I hope it doesn't get worse. I'm not exactly wealthy here, but I am among the incredibly fortunate few who have a job that not many people can perform. If my life went even slightly differently, I may have been, and in fact may one day be, among the unemployed. Its easy to be humbled by that fact, but possibly easier to not be. Sometimes it's tempting to say " well, if I were unemployed I would just..." but in reality, its not that easy. Some people have to completely start over, many of those probably hadn't had enough opportunity to prepare for sudden unemployment. At that point, I just hope that the number of loyal friends and family members far outweigh the non. I'm not so sure they do.

 

It is true that if I stopped working, there wouldn't be someone in line to take my place. The job would simply cease to exist because it just might be impossible to find anyone qualified to replace me (Umm, not meant to be arrogant or anything, that is just a fact of my field.). HOWEVER, that does not really mean that my job is secure. If there are continued financial constraints which result in budget cuts in government, business, public or private health care and education, then the money that allows for my services will simply disappear. I expect that could happen even though much of what I do is mandated to take place by federal law.

Now, there is more to it than that, which microcosmically shows that most dialogues concerning the economy are nothing more than simplistic conjecture. EVERYTHING in this economy is interrelated and there is no simple political answer (SUBSIDIZE!!! vs CUT!!!!). Even if the institutions in question continue funding my work, I can't work if there are no clients. If people can not afford health care and stop visiting facilities, if they either can't afford education or scholarship funds run dry and stop going to school, if nobody can get a job interview nor get hired and need training, or participate in public events including certain forms of recreation, if people have to start cutting out their use of telecommunications to save money, then there will be nothing at all for me to do. Sure, there will always be little bits of work here and there so long as the United States exists as a country (Which is the great appeal to being an interpreter. I plan to maintain my certification even if/when I change fields), but all of us contractors and per diem workers would be over them like piranhas on small prey. Everyone gets a bit, but no one gets sated. Or, they start throwing warm bodies of the unqualified variety into seats and paying them 1/3 as much as they pay me. It's already been happening.

Back to the thread topic- I would NEVER get one of those for a friend of mine. Maybe for an ex-coworker that I disliked :moon: