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People can only be used if they allow themselves to be used. If they won't think for themselves, then I do believe the term "moron" is completely applicable.
mo-ron
–noun 1.a person who is notably stupid or lacking in good judgment.
Now to be fair, there are a lot of variables that aren't so easily predictable. If they were, we would have the ability to avoid recessions, and certainly those of this magnitude.
Let's look at the unemployed software engineers and mechanical engineers in this country. A lot of them pursued careers that were in demand, at least they were while they were in school pursuing them. A lot of things changed once they graduated. Jobs were off shored, plants shut down, etc. I know this from my experience living in Michigan. Some are fortunate where they have the resources to pick up and move (myself included). Not everyone has that luxury.
I just viewed another thread on this site about a mechanical engineer up in Detroit who has been unemployed for over a year. The banks foreclosed on his house and he's in debt with VISA. With his poor credit history, he claims that he won't be able to get a security clearance to work at some of the DoD contract firms that are hiring. I'm sure at one point, he was doing very well for himself. Maybe he had savings that were eaten up rapidly once he lost his job. He certainly had an education. What did he do wrong?
You can't morally place blame on people like this. They can't justifiably be referred to as morons.
I lost less than 20% of my portfolio and retirement assets. I shoved most of the retirement money into bonds a few years ago, because anyone with a shred of common sense had to see that the bubble couldn't last. The rest of it I dumped into cash accounts with the exception of some blue chips that I've held long term that I just ride along with the ups and downs, they are worth 500% over what what I bought them for, so at this point it's pretty hard to lose.
Good for you but all that is fleeting. It doesn't matter.
You came into this world naked and you will leave naked you will own nothing. Everything you have is borrowed.
Someday I might write about my grandfather in the writers forum but here's a tad of his story.
I was born and raised in Atherton, California which is a tad on the rich side of the bay area. My grandfather owned a house that last sold for $10 million and the neighbor across the back fence was non other than Shirley Temple Black.
After he died we were going through grandfathers papers and found a financial statement dated 1938 where he had a net worth of $8 million dollars. In 1938 $8 million was a lot of money.
He earned is money not once but twice. Was considered rich in the late 20's, lost it in the crash, made it again from the mid 30's keeping it until the early 60's when he lost it again. He died an old man nearly penniless but that isn't what mattered what mattered is he did it his way.
I always respected him but the respect grew after he died and we started going through his papers. When I was younger he would tell stories about knowing Robert Mayhew of Howard Hughes fame, of Henry John Kaiser of Kaiser ship building fame on the west coast and my personal favorite the WWI ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Turned out he wasn't dropping names he really knew these people and I have a hard copy first print of Eddie Rickenbacker's book "Seven Came Through" written during the war. Inside the cover is an autograph with a 50 word handwritten message that let's you know the two men personally knew each other.
If you're driving up and down the San Francisco peninsula you've seen a number of older houses and commercial buildings my grandfather's company built. One of them in particular I know you've all seen, you can't miss it, and it is still standing.
I was doing well when I had a bad job once. I did everything right but the people I had a contract with went bankrupt and it was a severe financial blow to yours truly. I lost a lot and it's the reason I am still working today because at one time I could have retired. What kept me going on even keel is the memory of my grandfather and thinking about how he would have handled it. Nobody ever heard him swear a single word, he would have said "Oh darn", picked up and continued on.
The point is it is all fleeting. What you have today, be it money, job or status, can disappear tomorrow. Everything we have and think is owned in reality is just borrowed.
Look at what Madoff and Enron did to people. People that thought they were set but overnight lost everything. Sometimes it was their fault and sometimes it was just the luck of the draw, the way the cookie crumbled.
We seem to have lost our way in what is really important. What is important is what you leave behind in terms of family and values. We just don't need that everyone needs that and we can't haveit with a second or third world economy. Contrary to what many might believe we can not have a first world economy without manufacturing and the manual jobs they bring.
Now to be fair, there are a lot of variables that aren't so easily predictable. If they were, we would have the ability to avoid recessions, and certainly those of this magnitude.
Let's look at the unemployed software engineers and mechanical engineers in this country. A lot of them pursued careers that were in demand, at least they were while they were in school pursuing them. A lot of things changed once they graduated. Jobs were off shored, plants shut down, etc. I know this from my experience living in Michigan. Some are fortunate where they have the resources to pick up and move (myself included). Not everyone has that luxury.
I just viewed another thread on this site about a mechanical engineer up in Detroit who has been unemployed for over a year. The banks foreclosed on his house and he's in debt with VISA. With his poor credit history, he claims that he won't be able to get a security clearance to work at some of the DoD contract firms that are hiring. I'm sure at one point, he was doing very well for himself. Maybe he had savings that were eaten up rapidly once he lost his job. He certainly had an education. What did he do wrong?
You can't morally place blame on people like this. They can't justifiably be referred to as morons.
Has he been looking for work outside of his regional area? Not until very recently if I recall. Waiting on a job in MIchigan is like waiting on grass to grow at the North Pole, something that anyone with an ounce of common sense should be able to figure out. There are engineering jobs that are not with DoD and do not require cleareance--and I jsut gave him a heads up on some in that thread.
Good for you but all that is fleeting. It doesn't matter.
You came into this world naked and you will leave naked you will own nothing. Everything you have is borrowed.
Someday I might write about my grandfather in the writers forum but here's a tad of his story.
I was born and raised in Atherton, California which is a tad on the rich side of the bay area. My grandfather owned a house that last sold for $10 million and the neighbor across the back fence was non other than Shirley Temple Black.
After he died we were going through grandfathers papers and found a financial statement dated 1938 where he had a net worth of $8 million dollars. In 1938 $8 million was a lot of money.
He earned is money not once but twice. Was considered rich in the late 20's, lost it in the crash, made it again from the mid 30's keeping it until the early 60's when he lost it again. He died an old man nearly penniless but that isn't what mattered what mattered is he did it his way.
I always respected him but the respect grew after he died and we started going through his papers. When I was younger he would tell stories about knowing Robert Mayhew of Howard Hughes fame, of Henry John Kaiser of Kaiser ship building fame on the west coast and my personal favorite the WWI ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Turned out he wasn't dropping names he really knew these people and I have a hard copy first print of Eddie Rickenbacker's book "Seven Came Through" written during the war. Inside the cover is an autograph with a 50 word handwritten message that let's you know the two men personally knew each other.
If you're driving up and down the San Francisco peninsula you've seen a number of older houses and commercial buildings my grandfather's company built. One of them in particular I know you've all seen, you can't miss it, and it is still standing.
I was doing well when I had a bad job once. I did everything right but the people I had a contract with went bankrupt and it was a severe financial blow to yours truly. I lost a lot and it's the reason I am still working today because at one time I could have retired. What kept me going on even keel is the memory of my grandfather and thinking about how he would have handled it. Nobody ever heard him swear a single word, he would have said "Oh darn", picked up and continued on.
The point is it is all fleeting. What you have today, be it money, job or status, can disappear tomorrow. Everything we have and think is owned in reality is just borrowed.
Look at what Madoff and Enron did to people. People that thought they were set but overnight lost everything. Sometimes it was their fault and sometimes it was just the luck of the draw, the way the cookie crumbled.
We seem to have lost our way in what is really important. What is important is what you leave behind in terms of family and values. We just don't need that everyone needs that and we can't haveit with a second or third world economy. Contrary to what many might believe we can not have a first world economy without manufacturing and the manual jobs they bring.
You are what you leave and not what you have.
Fascinating post! When you have time, would you mind sharing some of the information on the history forum? Thanks and have a great week.
I was speaking to someone today I know as a vague acquaintance. I won't put in any details but she's around 60 and had what is a good 'service job' but was recently let go.
I'm not sure why. Could be office politics. Could be someone else knows someone younger for the job.
She's has no hard skills to fall back on (mainly done service work/c.s. work). The job she had was giving her training and benefits which she needs being 'partly disabled.'
Now she has 'nothing.' And here it is so hard to find anything over a service (retail/food service) job and that means minimum wage and standing for hours if you can get that. (who can live on this IF you do get this type job?)
She needs a sit down job but will not be able to get one in a million years IMO.
I feel so bad for her. It's hard enough to be 40 something and out of work. But 60 something with 'no training' in any desk skills whatsoever.
Sometimes the world is very screwed up.
GypsySoul22:
First, I'm so sorry that your original post got lost in all the banter that followed. As the sister of a 60 year old disabled woman, I truly feel for the person you described. Any disability usually lowers the lifetime earning capacity of that person. They are fortunate if their earnings are enough to cover the minimum necessities. Savings? Are you kidding me? If they are able to save even $5 a month, as someone else said, those savings are eaten up every time there is a need for new eyeglasses, major appliance, dentistry, etc. Most low-paying jobs do not provide health care insurance. If they do, I'm sure the coverage isn't comparable to what most employees have or have had.
As for the rest of her circumstances, instead of thinking "there but for the grace of God go I", so many will condemn her for not having common sense, training, investment savy, parents who taught her to save, etc. Should she have done things differently to prepare for this day? Absolutely! Could she have? Now that's the question no one has the right to judge unless they have walked her life in her shoes.
As for the rest of her circumstances, instead of thinking "there but for the grace of God go I", so many will condemn her for not having common sense, training, investment savy, parents who taught her to save, etc. Should she have done things differently to prepare for this day? Absolutely! Could she have? Now that's the question no one has the right to judge unless they have walked her life in her shoes.
I think people are very quick to find out why some bad situation or event happened to someone else *and why it won't happen to me.* It's pure fear, not lack of compassion, well... Compassion requires that the someone consider how it is to be another person's shoes, and that is too frightening for many people.
This goes for situations large and small. I didn't read the whole thread but it was obvious from the beginning that the OP women mentioned is unlikely to be able to relocate or retrain- losing a minimal job while being disabled isn't exactly the stuff of moving cross-country, never mind not having a job elsewhere, never mind elderly parents, etc. etc.
Frankly I have a hard time having sympathy for people who don't take classes to improve their careers or who don't save for their future. While I have empathy for the woman, I have zero sympathy--she really created her own problems by not taking any responsibility towards planning for her future.
Better be careful not to fall off that ivory tower that you're perched on
Better be careful not to fall off that ivory tower that you're perched on
I've got three seperate and distinct career paths, I'm well insured (some would say over insured), and have substantial savings. I learned from being poor that being poor sucks, and made damn well sure I wouldn't be poor ever again.
It's interesting how someone who loves to point their finger and criticize others can't see that thedefinition for their favorite verbal defamation is a perfect description for their own online behavior....
"a person that is notably stupid or lacking in good judgment"
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What is a moron?
