Laid off/Unemployed

[Bill Bess]

It's all seems to be about this new age concept, that Greed Is Good, get all you can, screw everyone you can..just as long as your making money. Folks now are not happy unless they have a 5 bedroom house a 3 car garage , RV, Boat, big truck, and a hot rod. They also feel the deserve a vacation home and cruise trips to boot.
All this on a semi-crapy job that doesn't pay very much, so.... the dual income became the new way of life.
Next, folks just plain over spent and extended their credit lines into outer space.

Now the big recession, Ya! big business, overpaid CEO's , lazy crooked government officials, unethical small business owners, labor unions, and just about everyone of us are at fault.

Now we pay the price, lose your house, can't afford to send your kids (with bad grades) to college, your toys get repossessed, your job is history, lose your retirement,...can't afford to golf on Saturdays...Crap!, HMMMMM! It must be those foreign countries that are at fault...it couldn't be our own GREED, .....or now could it.

Most of us are now hurting in some financial way, it's easy to fix, just start living within your means. If this means starting over, so be it..just make the tuff decisions and get your house in order ( maybe that's life in order) .

End of my rant!

PS. I think the 35'000 Feet Club is my best answer to the crooked CEO's and Bad Government Oofficials.

( Airplane at 35'000 feet, open door..exit left)

Old School Bill

[Ron61]

Bill,

That is why the last thing that I bought on time and made payments on was in 1965. When I had my house built I paid cash and had a small one built as I didn't need a huge one. The only bills I have had since 1965 are my regular monthly ones that I know of no way to avoid. I have one credit card that I use for almost everything and then I write one check and pay it completely off each month. I buy nothing that I don't need or can't afford to pay for when I get it.

Ron

[Wayne Maybury]

Ron, I'm in a similar position in that I have absolutely no debts now. We have a big old house that I have renovated over the years (actually I am putting in a new bathroom right now as someone has to try to do something for the economy). I have my toys but they are all paid for.

I work for a major forest products company and we keep announcing 2 week mill shutdowns in various locations but none of them have affected me so far. I have the feeling this is going to be a long, very tough recession.

Wayne

[Scott S]

Originally Posted by Wayne Maybury

I work for a major forest products company and we keep announcing 2 week mill shutdowns in various locations but none of them have affected me so far. I have the feeling this is going to be a long, very tough recession.

Wayne

Wayne, mills are paying $310 per m for Doug Fir, $225 for hemlock, mixed pulp is at $19.00-21 a ton.

2 years ago we could get more than double those prices. Every mill in my region is full of both logs and finished products with no markets for anything. Our usually fantastic raw log export market just tanked. I heard that two shiploads were turned around as the buyers in the far east failed. One ship can hold almost all of my yearly production.

If my creditors will agree to take interest payments only I think I can last a year, after that they can add my equipment to the hundreds sitting idle right now on distressed sale lots.

I have some of the most talented guys in the woods, many of them will lose their homes.

Scott S

[Bobcat]

Scott .... some years ago , I used to work with the mills in the SE and remember calling on Gulf Lumber in Mobile , AL . The Maintenance Supervisor was complaining that the lumber from Canada could be put on the boat in Mobile Bay cheaper than he could do it from 15 miles away .... so I understand where you`re coming from . Looks like we are doing everything we can to run jobs out of the country . I was in Eugene , OR some years ago when the spotted owl was declared an endangered species ... and the damn things were living in downtown San Francisco . So much for endangered ! Unfortunately , your misfortune was our gain in the SE as we managed to hold off most of the moonbats . Also , most of our production was soft wood ( Southern Pine ) ... and no spotted owls here .
Again , sorry you and your men have to go through this and pray everything works out for you .
FYI .... here is SC , the overall unemployment is now a little over 9.5% with at least two counties in the 17 to 19% range .

[vector1]

i think the bush administration set the tone for big business.

we see it in the work force at a government facility. our pay (the workers) has been froze for nearly 3 years now with lump sum yearly payments if your rating is high enough. which is funny, because they used to do this years ago and found it inefective and disruptive to the work force. this does nothing for our retirement and is not included in our base pay.

on the other hand, the supervisors have not been subject to this and are still receiving their yearly increases.

this seems to mirror what is happening in the private sector. the ceo's and upper management of larger business are not taking pay cuts or losing out on increases that i have heard of. we hear about layoffs but where are the sacrifices of these high paid people? they'll tell you that they are only accepting $1 in salary for the year but they've already made millions and are living high off the hog and could give a rats ass about 1 year when they know they have more wealth to come.

with all the layoffs and nothing for these people to do look for more gov sponsored projects. we have no manufacturing to speak of, it is all overseas.

it would be better imo to accept reduced pay, at least there is some cash flow. but business doesn't do this, they just lay the people off.

i don't see an end in sight, we still keep hearing of layoffs in the 1000's. i think the gov is hoping for a best case scenario, and personally, i don't know how long they're going to keep using the recession vocabulary, because i think it is only so far from the "d" vocabulary.

the only reason gov is worried about the little guy is they're losing revenue and are worried about their own demise, just human nature.

how's that for cynicism.

isn't this how revolutions are started?

[Wes Tausend]

...

There have been some pretty rough times in the US before, from the 1900's to the early 2000's.

Here is a short one page synopsis on "Monetary Policy Disasters" that seemed exceptionally well written.

Same thing in word.doc.

Wes


...

[Gordon Claunch]

I work in an Oil Refinery here in Bakersfield, We have been told they are closing, we are shut down and awaiting the layoffs, they should be coming in the next week.

This really sucks I figured I was halfway protected because of gasoline.

Does anyone need a Hydrocracker Control board operator??

[Rick Parker]

I feel your pain Scott.

[Ron61]

Scott,

Sorry to hear that. My neighbor across the street has worked for this mill as their head maintenance supervisor. About 8 months ago he hurt his back really bad and had to have 3 surgeries on it. He got on permanent disability about a week before they laid his whole crew off and they get nothing, so his disability was a blessing in disguise as he can live on it. He is like me and doesn't do a lot. He does go deer hunting and that helps with the food.
I am not sure about this, but I heard that three of the companies that own most of the logging trucks around here are thinking about closing down and selling their trucks.

Ron

[427 S/O]

Legend!!!.....in your mind......

[VRM]

Originally Posted by 427 S/O

Legend!!!.....in your mind......

Perhaps, perhaps not. But I routinely get emails (and sometimes calls) from people all over the world looking for info in my little niche market. I had a historical essay I had co-written published in an international car magazine as a feature article. I was also requested to help out on the restoration of the '65 Sebring Yenko Corvette, and a certain SSS Ferrari SWB that I am not allowed to mention by S/N.

I'm not saying that I'm Doug Nye, but I have managed to make a name for myself. So what have you done?

[Scott S]

Thanks Wes your comments are thoughtful and appreciated.

Scott S

[427 S/O]

Quote: I have managed to make a name for myself.....

Little do you know.....