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A great example of 80's quality of life in Upstate vs now was growing up everybody seemed to have a good paying job at Kodak or Zerox. As I got older, I noticed that more and more of my friends families were leaving. I was only a little kid in the 80's so I did not know that the parents of my friends were being laid off by these companies.
Basically, in addition to better music and more carefree attitudes back then, offshoring of jobs (like Kodak has done) has had a huge impact on quality of life being lower today
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Like my mom said, the 80s were better because there wasn't nearly as much off-shoring. My dad works in computers, and once the mid/late 90s came, he kept losing his job. Less and less jobs available because of the off-shoring. In the 80s, we made good money and never really worried about him losing his job.
Like my mom said, the 80s were better because there wasn't nearly as much off-shoring. My dad works in computers, and once the mid/late 90s came, he kept losing his job. Less and less jobs available because of the off-shoring. In the 80s, we made good money and never really worried about him losing his job.
So you base your perception of the 80s purely on job security?
Like my mom said, the 80s were better because there wasn't nearly as much off-shoring. My dad works in computers, and once the mid/late 90s came, he kept losing his job. Less and less jobs available because of the off-shoring. In the 80s, we made good money and never really worried about him losing his job.
Yes, the same thing happened in some computer fields as well. Some teaching jobs (college in my Dads case) wer cut in the SUNY system. At SUNY Brockort, my dad was a music professer and the department cut back and he was forced to find other work.
... Which brings up another point. It seems like many states are having budget problems (hence cutting some public U funding) which caused layoffs as well and it seems this is more of a current problem than the 80's and 90's. Another reason why the 80's were better
As far as the 00s, 9/11 had a major impact, not just for fear and terror aspect, but the economy took a major hit also from airlines, car rentals, hotels; anything connected with the travel industry. It took years for it to come back, and in some cases it still hasn't.
Besides the offshoring, my husband lost his job after 9/11. When you work (data center) for a major car rental company and people are staying put before they are afraid to travel for business or pleasure, they don't rent cars. This company cut their IT staff in half after 9/11. Teleconferencing became very big after 9/11 because of this.
I would definitely not pick the 00s as a good time. Another aspect relating to the fear factor? I worked in a 1st grade class right after 9/11. You've heard of fire, tornado, hurricane drills? We had terror attack drills. Of course, we didn't let the kids know that is what they were. At one put they even talked about taping up all the windows in case of a chemical attack. Dumb idea. One little 6 year old girl said, "If air cannot get inside, how are we going to breathe?" Out of the mouths of babes.
So you base your perception of the 80s purely on job security?
Not just job security, the music was happier, better quality. It was a time that in most places kids were carefree and could play outside. We felt safe as a nation and people.
I guess the safety thing is a matter of location, as the crack epidemic destroyed many neighborhoods, families and individuals during the 80's and early 90's.
I understand the economy in Upstate NY thing too. My area had plenty of jobs with people working at GE, GM, Carrier, Chrysler/New Process Gear, Crouse-Hinds and many more. I remember going to Christmas Parties where both of my parents worked and getting gifts. They don't do that anymore, I believe and many of the places that people worked at are either gone or have downsized.
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