Lots of layoffs in the local news....

**brennasmom** · 12-10-2011, 08:33 PM

In the past 2 days there have been 2 announcements of layoffs locally. What the heck? When is the madness going to stop?

* one company laying off 610 employees
* another company laying off 700 employees

**frugalwarrior2** · 12-10-2011, 08:35 PM

it not any time soon.

**Debbie-cat** · 12-10-2011, 11:39 PM

I think it is just going to get worse.

**brennasmom** · 12-11-2011, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by Debbie-cat

I think it is just going to get worse.

That's what I am afraid of

**NikoSan999** · 12-11-2011, 09:57 AM

Haven't you been listening to the news? Unemployment is down, jobs are up. Economy is getting better.

NOT!!!

Hiring is for Christmas temporary and tons of people have dropped off the unemployment count. False figure.

We've had at least 2 local business close down here in the last month. More and more people moving.

It's not getting better. And we haven't hit bottom yet. Hold onto the seat of your pants cause it's a long ride down a slippery slope.

**chowder** · 12-11-2011, 10:30 AM

It's no better here in Canada,they can lie all they like ,it isn't getting any better.

**Booklover** · 12-11-2011, 11:08 AM

We've had 3 businesses in the surrounding area announce closures just this past week. BIG businesses (one is a paper mill). Everyone is still reeling in shock of the thousands in this small area that will be out of work. There have never been a lot of jobs to begin with at any time, but this is just unbelievable.

It's too soon to see how it will all play out, but my instinct is that it isn't going to be good. Very few jobs are living wages anymore, and the cost of independent health insurance will make you bankrupt quickly.

**peanut** · 12-11-2011, 11:16 AM

I talked to a man in sales in the hotel industry yesterday. He says they're bracing for a bad year next year. The only thing that keeps them going in winter is the sports teams coming through town.

**brennasmom** · 12-11-2011, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by NikoSan999

Haven't you been listening to the news? Unemployment is down, jobs are up. Economy is getting better.

.

Ha! I know right? That is not what I am seeing at all.

**pollypurebred39** · 12-11-2011, 12:41 PM

We've recently had more closings here too. Like Booklover said, not many living wage jobs available out here. I think what we are seeing is a shifting of income levels that will never return to living wages. Our feet are on shifting sand and it makes everyone very nervous.

I remember when my oldest was in his graduating year there was a report out that said that what that year's graduating classes parent did to earn a living of $100,000 a year, will be a $30,000 a year job for that student. And that was the ceiling, a lifetime working to that level of salary. In addition, they also said that the generations to follow should expect to retrain/reeducation a minimum of 5 times in their lifetime.

What does that look like in the real world? I'm guessing it means a complete revamping of the American dream. Remember reading about Herbert Hoover's 1928 presidential campaign? And the Republican National Committee's a car in every garage and a chicken in every pot that was inserted into a number of newspapers during the 1928 campaign? A vote for Herbert Hoover was a vote for continued prosperity. Back in 1928 the American dream was completely different than today's idea of the American dream.

Given the fact that so many in this country are going hungry, are cold, and are without a roof over their heads, I'm thinking the new American dream is a pantry that does not echo, a roof over your head, and to have a job, any job. Frightening when businesses are falling like flies.

I remember when we had our boys, we had real dreams for them. Dreams that just seem crazy now. We dreamt for a good education for both. For them both to own their own homes, and be able to have some of the finer things in life. Now our dream is that we'll be able to make each boy an apartment within our home so they will never be without shelter, and for them to have a job with health insurance. My how times/dreams have changed.

The unvarnished truth is the percentage of living wage jobs are way down, and will remain way down. When the sand is done shifting there will be an even greater divide between low income earners and high income earners. Middle class $30,000 a year? The economy will recover, though I believe it will be many years from now. But I do not believe it will recover to previous levels. It's a long fall from $100,000 to a ceiling of $30,000, and a family home becoming multi generational.

**peanut** · 12-11-2011, 02:44 PM

Pollypurebred: we are seeing this in our part of Canada too. Suddenly people are opening suites in their basement or renting out rooms for extra income to keep up with the rising cost of living and their lack of pay increases for the past 2 or 3 years. We too, are looking at fixing the basement for children who may be returning home.

**Momto5RN** · 12-11-2011, 02:59 PM

my dhs company is being bought unsure of where that will leave us once the buy outs over , they told him his job is safe but that can change the minute the buyout is complete .

my work is really slow right now - if not for pts asking specifically for me and i few difficult cases i took over from burnt out nurses who needed a break from those pts i would be in big trouble ... this coming week i will have less than 1/3 my normal pay if i cant pick anything up .

**Nishu** · 12-11-2011, 03:17 PM

Right before Christmas. Lamesauce.

**ShadowMom** · 12-11-2011, 05:28 PM

I'm supposed to be laid off in February. Hope to go back to school.

**227melissa** · 12-12-2011, 06:48 AM

Scary times. Not sure how bad it will get, not spending right now and adding to the stockpile. The numbers out of Washington are totally fabricated so people won't panic or protest, but we are really in a mess.