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Not really. I'm cynical, I'm realistic. But I still believe that I can pull my own a$$ up by those metaphorical bootstraps and keep moving forward.
I hate politics and the economy and taxes and all of it just as much as the next person. Will it ever change? Doubt it. Is it any different then 5,000 years ago? No, not really. Just different players in the game, says the cynicism and the realism.
The optimist then says, well, you're just going to be the best game player you can be then, aren't you?
Not really. I'm cynical, I'm realistic. But I still believe that I can pull my own a$$ up by those metaphorical bootstraps and keep moving forward.
I hate politics and the economy and taxes and all of it just as much as the next person. Will it ever change? Doubt it. Is it any different then 5,000 years ago? No, not really. Just different players in the game, says the cynicism and the realism.
The optimist then says, well, you're just going to be the best game player you can be then, aren't you?
Hey, if it's working for you, so be it. Some might chalk the last sentence up to naivete. But who really knows how difficult any particular person has had it and what their experiences are.
My personal experiences have certainly changed the way I look at life. My entire life has been nothing but a struggle. I hope for the day where I can finally say I made it. I'll be debt free, have a solid investment portfolio and a job I enjoy. Heck, if I could get two out of the three, that would be nice.
But I guess that's a possibility. I guess that probably described me back in college. I was cynical, but also optimistic that I was going to conquer the world when I graduated. In fact, I couldn't wait to get out of school to start making money (rather than spend it on what I was starting to think as a waste of time). I graduated alright, in 2008...in Metro Detroit.
Needless to say, my perspective on the world has changed significantly. I'm no longer the overly arrogant/confident College Republican I was back then who thought that everyone's woes were brought on by their laziness or irresponsible behavior, that's for sure. Maybe if finding a job wasn't so ridiculously difficult these days, I'd feel different about the world. Until then, it just sucks.
Why does the difficulty of securing employment effect your political leanings? I'm a conservative, but today's commercial brand of republicanism is a joke. Both parties are grinding the American people into a pulp, and probably laughing the whole way through. They are laughing at the fact that people still believe there is a difference between the two parties. We haven't seen a real conservative president for a very long time. Even predating Reagen.
I personally got the heck out of Metro Detroit, and my life improved greatly. There are opportunities elsewhere, you just have to chase them like you mean it. I got so fed up with the economy there that I packed my belongings in my car and I couldn't be happier. I miss Michigan for many reasons, but when I talk to my friends who stayed, and the crappy jobs they are surviving on... No thanks. They can have it.
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Originally Posted by Tekkie
Believe it or not, some people post a lot of overly optimistic comments as a means of veiling their own insecurities or denying what is right in front of them. For example, I might consistently post about how well the economy is doing because deep down I am not certain it is, but I really want it to be. Or I might post about how well I think the job market is, because deep down I want it to be if I lose my job.
The economy IS doing great. Companies are making money hand over fist. The stock market has been on a 5 year roar. I couldn't be happier. The problem is, the mood in the labor market is doom and gloom. Most are not sharing in this reward.
The owner where I work just got a record order. Needless to say, he doesn't have to give a raise or anything to keep people coming in.
I'm kinda cracking up at the "conquer the world" thing. Yours truly here was raised conservative republican. Not that that means anything in the reality of me. I am/was the BIGGEST procrastinator, lazy, didn't apply myself, the whole 9 yards. I see now that as a girl I was ADD, not really something they diagnosed GIRLS as having back in the day.
It was only DECADES later, in my 30's, where I learned discipline, and how to apply myself. Though I still can get obsessive, which is a side gift of ADD.
There was no "conquering the world" in my system at ALL when I left CT. There was just a feeling that there was nothing there for me and I needed to go out and find what was me.
I laugh HA HA! at careers, and stability, and 20 years at a job. It's not ME. It never will be. I'm ADD. I'm happier with 4 or 5 different things to do at any one time. The fluxes in my life on a monthly basis would make most people cringe.
Hard times? Yes. Been unemployed for an extended period? Yes. In a car accident where by no fault of your own your body was turned from a 37 year old of health to parts that feel 75, right over here.
Been writhing on the floor 2 months after said accident, with such pain in your neck that, and NO ONE there to help, within 1500 miles, and all you could do was lie there and cry? Yep that was me.
Why does the difficulty of securing employment effect your political leanings? I'm a conservative, but today's commercial brand of republicanism is a joke. Both parties are grinding the American people into a pulp, and probably laughing the whole way through. They are laughing at the fact that people still believe there is a difference between the two parties. We haven't seen a real conservative president for a very long time. Even predating Reagen.
I personally got the heck out of Metro Detroit, and my life improved greatly. There are opportunities elsewhere, you just have to chase them like you mean it. I got so fed up with the economy there that I packed my belongings in my car and I couldn't be happier. I miss Michigan for many reasons, but when I talk to my friends who stayed, and the crappy jobs they are surviving on... No thanks. They can have it.
Well, take out the Republican and let's just say that I was a huge advocate for Objectivism. The world is not that black and white though, and I realize now that back then I was too much of an idealist. I was also arrogant in thinking that because I was such a hard worker and overly ambitious, that things were going to be easy. I thought that I was going to conquer the world after college, that there'd be a ton of opportunity. Instead, it's been nothing but one disappointment after another, one struggle or setback after another. I'm just a bit burnt out. Once I pay off my debt, I can see me being marginally happier and less stressed.
Also, I was living in Denver for the past five years. I moved there after college. I came back to MI to save money and pay down student loan debt and also to be close to family. However, I don't know how much more of my job I can take. Therefore, I might be heading back shortly, depending on the job situation here (if I can find a new one).
P.s. Don't get me wrong, I'd still vote for a Republican, just so long as they were fiscally conservative and socially progressive. That's the best I can describe my current political leanings if you will. Too many tea partiers running the show at the moment. They're too extreme for my tastes.
The problem is, the mood in the labor market is doom and gloom. Most are not sharing in this reward.
It's more than just a mood, it's reality. The fact that any well-qualified candidate should have to apply for hundreds of jobs for months on end to get a single job offer is enough to make me uneasy. A guy I used to work with told me stories about how he'd quit his job on Monday and have another one by Friday. Now that's what I'm talking about. If you want me to feel good about the economy, give me that kind of landscape.
The job market is still generally terrible (more so in some areas than others of course), especially for someone without a highly specialized skill set or tons of diversified work experience. If I were a petroleum engineer living in Bakersfield, CA, I'm sure I'd be singing a different tune.
It's more than just a mood, it's reality. The fact that any well-qualified candidate should have to apply for hundreds of jobs for months on end to get a single job offer is enough to make me uneasy. A guy I used to work with told me stories about how he'd quit his job on Monday and have another one by Friday. Now that's what I'm talking about.
The job market is still generally terrible (more so in some areas than others of course), especially for someone without a highly specialized skill set or tons of diversified work experience. If I were a petroleum engineer living in Bakersfield, CA, I'm sure I'd be singing a different tune.
I personally have never experienced this, even in the worst local market during the worst period of the recession. I didn't always find the greatest paying job, but it was better than nothing. The longest it took me to find a job was 2 weeks. There's plenty of stories going around... I take everything I hear with a grain of salt.
I personally have never experienced this, even in the worst local market during the worst period of the recession. I didn't always find the greatest paying job, but it was better than nothing. The longest it took me to find a job was 2 weeks. There's plenty of stories going around... I take everything I hear with a grain of salt.
Don't get me wrong, my experiences haven't been terribly bad. I've been gainfully employed since 2005 without any major gaps. I've been looking off and on the last two years, because I generally despise my job. I've had interviews, some more promising than others. I've had a few that I had to withdraw from consideration because I didn't think it would be a good fit. Even this summer, I had somewhat of a job offer debacle which was ultimately rejected by both me and the employer, as odd as that sounds.
I've just developed a negative mindset based on the difficulty to find an ideal job (one that pays well and is relatively easy-going, not too stressful). I look for jobs and nothing appears to be a good match. But I apply anyway and most of the time I don't hear anything back. But I'll get a few bites here and there. It's ultimately just been a very frustrating last two years, because I haven't found a job to replace the one I have now, the one which I hate because of how stressful and overwhelming it is. Maybe when I get a new job, I'll be singing a more upbeat tune. Until then, blah!
Why does the difficulty of securing employment effect your political leanings? I'm a conservative, but today's commercial brand of republicanism is a joke. Both parties are grinding the American people into a pulp, and probably laughing the whole way through. They are laughing at the fact that people still believe there is a difference between the two parties. We haven't seen a real conservative president for a very long time. Even predating Reagen.
I can see it. Look at boomers, a decent sized number of the early boomers were hippies (far left for the 60's) and guess what, the boomers now make up the larger part of the Tea Party. As time goes on, what you look for in government can change. Many people want programs that they need but when they don't (or don't know people who use these programs), they want them cut. I am a socially liberal, fiscally conservative person. I believe in equality but if the nation is in trouble, I show my fiscally conservative side though I wouldn't slash everything possible to achieve this (like many "conservatives" on C-D would do.)
I think the issue is Tekkie believed into the hype of you make your own luck and did well but then one day after numerous failures and falling on their *****, they realized despite doing everything "right" according to how you should conduct job prospects, it wasn't working and they "woke up." (Similar to those who claim that the youth live in some fantasy world when their parents help them out while being unemployed or unederemployed.) IMHO, more people need to realize this.
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I personally got the heck out of Metro Detroit, and my life improved greatly. There are opportunities elsewhere, you just have to chase them like you mean it. I got so fed up with the economy there that I packed my belongings in my car and I couldn't be happier. I miss Michigan for many reasons, but when I talk to my friends who stayed, and the crappy jobs they are surviving on... No thanks. They can have it.
The move away issue again? Not everyone has resources to move. Take a college grad, if they had a job they may have the money to live elsewhere. If they didn't, they likely won't. It takes a decent amount of money to move (in the hundreds at least.) Not everyone has that or can bootstrap themselves to get it.
Quote:
The economy IS doing great. Companies are making money hand over fist. The stock market has been on a 5 year roar. I couldn't be happier. The problem is, the mood in the labor market is doom and gloom. Most are not sharing in this reward.
The owner where I work just got a record order. Needless to say, he doesn't have to give a raise or anything to keep people coming in.
If the economy is doing "great," why are incomes stagnant and the COL is continually going up? Oh wait, Wall Street is doing fine, let's not worry about Main Street.
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Not everyone has resources to move. Take a college grad, if they had a job they may have the money to live elsewhere. If they didn't, they likely won't. It takes a decent amount of money to move (in the hundreds at least.) Not everyone has that or can bootstrap themselves to get it.
Oh wait, Wall Street is doing fine, let's not worry about Main Street.
