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Even when I worked in the private sector, before the recession, some of the laziest people I've seen were employees not the unemployed. Especially managers and C-level execs. Some of those C's were handicapped without their assistants and "gophers." They were a joke. I've worked next to some lazy private sector people too. They are spoiled at their job, with all those fringe benefits and other "goodies." Once they become unemployed though, they sober up quick and realize what a good thing they had.
And I personally , in my life at least, don't know any unemployed person who is "lazy" or a spoiled whiner. Of course there's plenty of them. I stay away from those. There is no way anyone with half a brain can live it up on unemployment or public assistance while being unemployed. You have to be a scammer or a criminals who is skilled at your trade for that to occur.
So anybody who insists the unemployed are all lazy is brainwashed. Or seriously retarded.
Most of the people who love to blame the unemployed are believers in the Just World fallacy - the notion that "everyone always gets what they deserve." Simple logic destroys this worldview: did the hard worker "deserve" to be hit by a drunk driver and thus lose his job over the medical expenses? Did the starving child "deserve" to be born into poverty? A long list could be made of other examples, including the fallacy that corporations always make the best decision when it comes to hiring and retaining staff. We all have piles of stories that prove no such thing is true, but no amount of facts seems to matter here.
The need to eliminate luck is key to their sense of self-worth. They need to believe that all the success they've found in life is because of their actions alone - luck played no part in it. For this reason, they need to hate everyone less fortunate than they are since clearly "we deserve it." If they recognized reality - that luck can overwhelm skill when it comes to success or failure - they would have to look at their own lives and see the role luck played in them achieving success. This would take away from their sense of perfection and "deserving everything they've received" in life... so they pretend luck either doesn't exist or can somehow be "overcome" with enough effort... and this naturally leads to them hating the unemployed. The misfortune and injustice of our situation must be hidden or the role of luck would become apparent in life, and they cannot accept that.
How long does luck last? i have a friend and she got a good paying job and her husband is CFO at a big financial firm and makes loads of money, they own summerhouse at the lake, drive two cars, live in a fashion area in the city.
When will luck end for those people? can luck last til they die?
How long does luck last? i have a friend and she got a good paying job and her husband is CFO at a big financial firm and makes loads of money, they own summerhouse at the lake, drive two cars, live in a fashion area in the city.
When will luck end for those people? can luck last til they die?
In answer to your question, yes, since luck includes anything over which we have very limited or no control, such as: the family into which you were born, your age, your health (you have some control over that, but not a lot), and so on.
Some people are "lucky" in that good things always seem to go their way. Maybe you both end up working for similar companies at similar times, but his company does great, while the one you are at crashes and burns, but there was no way to tell that would happen when you started there. Or, you both buy identical cars at the same time - yours turns out to be a lemon, while his runs for 200,000 miles. We all know people like this - fate smiles on them. We also probably know people who suffer from chronic bad luck and nothing seems to go their way. If they bought a lottery ticket, they'd somehow lose more money than they put into it. If they go on vacation, they end up caught in a freak storm or the ship sinks or something...
Other people are "lucky" because of one major event in their lives. For example, if you're born the son of a major VP at a big corporation, you're basically set for life if you don't do anything really stupid. Go into the right field, have daddy get you a job, and that's it - you've got a career until you decide to retire. And you'll probably get a nice inheritance, too, when the old man kicks the bucket since he was a VP. Luck like that often lasts a lifetime as well since it is so far-reaching.
In answer to your question, yes, since luck includes anything over which we have very limited or no control, such as: the family into which you were born, your age, your health (you have some control over that, but not a lot), and so on.
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Other people are "lucky" because of one major event in their lives. For example, if you're born the son of a major VP at a big corporation, you're basically set for life if you don't do anything really stupid. Go into the right field, have daddy get you a job, and that's it - you've got a career until you decide to retire. And you'll probably get a nice inheritance, too, when the old man kicks the bucket since he was a VP. Luck like that often lasts a lifetime as well since it is so far-reaching.
Your posts mirror the sentiment of our president. Very much along the lines of his, "you didn't create that" speech. Yes, none of us who have achieved success, or continue to at least do OK have worked hard to make that happen. Success is always handed down from other successful people, who ironically also achieved success the same way. Actually, here is the way it works... The government issues "golden tickets" to be handed down to a finite number of Americans. During recessions, the government must issue fewer of these, so fewer people have a chance of traversing the "easy street" on a path to success. At any rate, all of us who continue to remain employed have this "golden ticket" in our wallets. Yea, that's how it works... You don't have to work hard or anything to stay employed in a decent job, you just have to be lucky
I'm sorry things aren't going your way. In my opinion, unfortunate circumstances can have two potential effects... Either they motivate you to make the needed changes, or they conquer you. Problems can be solved, but complaining about them does nothing to achieve this. I know a lot of good people who have been knocked down a peg these past 5 years, but I also know the best of them have found a way to pick themselves up. It wasn't done by expecting the good luck train to make a stop in their little village.
Last edited by 7G9C4J2; 08-07-2012 at 08:17 PM..
Reason: political commentary belongs in Politics & Other Controversies
Moderator cut: orphaned
I'm sorry things aren't going your way. In my opinion, unfortunate circumstances can have two potential effects... Either they motivate you to make the needed changes, or they conquer you. Problems can be solved, but complaining about them does nothing to achieve this. I know a lot of good people who have been knocked down a peg these past 5 years, but I also know the best of them have found a way to pick themselves up. It wasn't done by expecting the good luck train to make a stop in their little village.
A terrific message written beautifully. Folks have to watch out for the underlined, often they slip from the first to second parts, at their own peril.
Last edited by 7G9C4J2; 08-07-2012 at 08:18 PM..
Reason: removed orphaned portion
I'm sorry things aren't going your way. In my opinion, unfortunate circumstances can have two potential effects... Either they motivate you to make the needed changes, or they conquer you. Problems can be solved, but complaining about them does nothing to achieve this. I know a lot of good people who have been knocked down a peg these past 5 years, but I also know the best of them have found a way to pick themselves up. It wasn't done by expecting the good luck train to make a stop in their little village.
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Hard work and effort is needed - I *never* said it wasn't. You could consider hard work and effort similar to buying a raffle ticket... without luck, it may not amount to much. Of course, if you don't work hard and try - which would be buying the ticket - you have no chance of winning. In all cases, buying the ticket - working hard - only guarantees a *chance* of success. Followers of the Just World fallacy would disagree and assume that luck plays no part in this, but that is not realistic, as we both know.
That being said, not amount of hard work or effort can get around insane employment policies ("no unemployed need apply"), laughably narrow job requirements, or the simple fact that there are not enough jobs for all the people who need them. I never said "give up," but the facts are what they are. Putting a smile on my face and expecting to magically fix what I do not control is nothing but self delusion.
Last edited by 7G9C4J2; 08-07-2012 at 08:19 PM..
Reason: removed orphaned portion, unnecessary remarks
Yes, I do find people who are unemployed for very long periods of time to be lazy. Usually its because they are incredibly picky about the type of work they will take. For instance, I have never had a problem getting a job, once I quit one job and then two weeks later I found another that paid a few bucks more to replace it. I am very flexible in the type of work that I will do which is why I find employment quicker than others.
There was a girl who I knew that claimed she needed money so bad to help pay for her granny's funeral, she was crying major tears so I told her about a handful of positions that were hiring people at the moment (decent desk jobs) and every last job I told her about she never took it. She always made an excuse for why it wasn't the right fit for her. Same situation happened with another acquaintance, she moaned about how she needed employment so bad and I knew someone who was hiring right on the spot in the very same field she worked in and she never got off her behind to get the job. so from there on I figure people are unemployed because they want to be.
Hard work and effort is needed - I never said it wasn't. You could consider hard work and effort basically being the process of buying a lottery ticket... But without luck, it may not amount to much, and if things don't go your way, all that hard work and effort can amount to nothing. Of course, if you don't work hard and try - similar to buying the ticket - you have no chance of winning, but buying it guarantees nothing.
That being said, not amount of hard work or effort can get around insane employment policies ("no unemployed need apply"), laughably narrow job requirements, or the simple fact that there are not enough jobs for all the people who need them. I never said "give up," but snarky "motivation," demands to "cheer up" for no reason, all mixed with contempt is not remotely hopeful.
These are the facts, and no amount of partisan politics, blaming the unemployed, or invoking the Just World fallacy will change them.
I've dealt with the same things. I've seen my prospects diminished, my hope withered and my very livelihood in jeopardy. It's scary I'll admit. The first layoff sucked. Tough break. Worked full time at a job that paid less and went to college. Explored different options, lost a lot of sleep, even went to nursing school for a year and a half. Looking back, I don't know how I did it really. I also know the fear and desperation motivated me to absorb what the world had to offer like a sponge. It was the challenge that really kicked my efforts into full gear. Had I not gone through that, I wouldn't be half as competitive as I am in this crappy job market.
I think it was the second layoff that really made me completely rethink my strategy, and my view of the labor market in general. I realized something important... If you really want job security, and if you really want to be able to dictate your worth... You have to accomplish this based on your actions and your effort. You have to be the guy that the boss cannot do without, and the guy your boss will loose because he's closing the doors. I can't tell you how to do that, but it does require bringing your A game to work every day. Not many people are going to put that type of effort into a job, because a job to most people is simply a means to an end.
When I talk to the actual business owners about the problems we see today, the crappy economy, the labor market in general, there is one message that echos... They all say they are just asking for a worker who gives a crap. They can do fine if 70% don't give a crap. As long as they have 30% who give a crap and can guide the other 70%, that's fine. As the economy waxes and wanes, the 70% will serve as the buffer protecting and securing the actual highly productive 30%. The trick is actually doing what it takes to make it in that 30% category. One must also realize... That 30% may not get paid more relative to their contribution. That's fine with me, because I'll take a reasonable pay rate if it also comes with the added benefit of job security.
I hope I have given you something to think about that will serve you in the future. If not, that is fine too. We all must navigate the same choppy waters, but it is the boat we build that determines our survival. I hope you are doing everything you can today to make yours seaworthy, because it seems there is always a perpetual storm on the horizon.
Last edited by 7G9C4J2; 08-07-2012 at 08:20 PM..
Reason: removed orphaned portion
Location: where people are either too stupid to leave or too stuck to move
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lanab
How long does luck last? i have a friend and she got a good paying job and her husband is CFO at a big financial firm and makes loads of money, they own summerhouse at the lake, drive two cars, live in a fashion area in the city.
When will luck end for those people? can luck last til they die?
I say luck is a bit random . Some will have it til the end of time. Some will get a lot of it and then have so much bad luck theyd wish they never had it in the first place(like coming into large sums of money that results in betrayal or death etc) and some will have horrible luck and finally get good luck and some will have bad luck til death . You just never know!
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