Re: Crybabies (employment, credit card, debt, degrees)

[scsigurl3000]

I'll probably get into trouble with this, but I just saw this guy on CNN who actually was crying: he lost his job at a plant, operating large machinery, and "all he could find" was a job at Lowe's Supermarket, making $16.00/hour. He said something (with tears in his eyes) along the lines of: this is America, how can this happen.

Well, boo hoo. I think he should be ashamed of himself. He's privileged to have a job; he's not on the streets, or going hungry, and his family is probably fine. Life is change; the economy changes. Nobody is owed ANYTHING. He should read about the changes going on, world-wide.

From what I understand from reading Thomas Friedman, Sam Hungtington, Alvin Tofler and others, these changes are a function of the world economy and the changes in technology, and are not the fault of any political party, or individual leader.

[mrs1885]

Well, you'll find all kinds of opinions on which political party is at fault, but I do agree that this is life. And I definitely agree no one owes him a job. I've been out of work. It happens to most of us at some time. Suck it up and find another job. And $16/hr?? That's not bad for working in a home improvement store unless he's living in Hollyweird or NYC or something.

My guess is while he was working and had a nice little income he went big time in debt with credit cards, a massive mortgage, a couple car payments, etc (ie, trying to 'keep up with the Jones') and now he's freaking about losing everything. It's a clear indication of the current state of our country. No one wants to work hard and save their pennies to pay cash for anything. We want it all and we want the best and we want it now so we borrow borrow borrow expecting life to never change.

Well, welcome to the real world. It does change. And if you are irresponsible enough to get yourself in that much debt it's all your fault. Sell the house, sell the cars, sell the furniture. Take your $16/hr job and get another delivering newspapers or pizza or cutting the neighbors grass or babysitting their little brats or walking their dogs. But don't sit around and whine about it and wait for the government to come bail you out because it's not going to happen. Oh wait, yeh, I guess it will. My tax dollars hard at work.

[scsigurl3000]

Yes, this reminds me of a section of a poem by Carl Sandburg in "The People, Yes." It was about how some business people threw themselves out of windows to their death during the great Crash of the Depression. The poet wrote (something like): their millions were only worth thousands now and they didn't know what to do.

Money, and "keeping up with the Joneses" is not that important, and the sooner people learn this, the better. There are other values, far more important: learning, self-esteem, ethics, responsibility, beauty (which is free).

I don't know what that (grown) man was crying about, but losing his job was probably the best thing that could happen to him -- in terms of development of his character.

If I lose everything (and I have), I won't even care. I need very few things; a clean, safe place to live, a cat, a bicycle, a computer, my violin. None of these things are expensive.

Actually, I've spent most of my life in school, and people say to me, I wish I (they) had all those degrees and learning -- but they don't want to give up the new car, the expensive home, etc. Well......

[jamaicabound60565]

Hard to feel sorry for a guy like that, hes the type of person who would turn down that $16 an hour job to sit on unemployment for his 99 weeks and then cry when that gravy train comes to an end.

[hnsq]

That is over $30,000/year without overtime. Not a bad salary at all to keep him going while he keeps looking for a better job...

[scsigurl3000]

At the same time, I don't mean to be hard on people who are scared b/c they can't find work, and are trying very hard to find it, without result. Easy for me to say: I've only worked 12-14 hours a day, every day for the last 16 years, developing my businesses. Most people are not that obsessed, and therefore won't get the same result. (And didn't get to go to universities for free on music scholarships...)

But I've been scared, worried, upset, troubled, panicky, without a car, living on Ramon noodles, etc., more than once. I may cry, but not in public. And certainly not in the same way this grown man cried, on CNN. $16.00 an hour is a fortune. I've worked for much, much less.

(And I should add I'm a woman, alone, with MS, elderly -- I've lost my husband, my parents, my cat of 16 years. But there is never an excuse to feel sorry for yourself when so many people are suffering from so much worse than most of us privileged, educated Americans are.)

[malamute]

I don't see crying myself because it isn't going to accomplish anything but some people are very emotional and they cry, they can't help it - maybe it's the way they were raised. They cry over weddings, graduations, and they'll cry over jobs.

[kodaka]

You are comparing someone else's job loss (and probably the loss of much else, since most people rely on their jobs for everything else)...and you're comparing it to the loss of your CAT?

You've hardly walked a mile in that man's shoes so you have no business judging him. Or anyone else.

[Joy333]

I agree with kodaka, what a shame to make fun of someone else's misfortune. We are not owed anything in life, but we go to work and get comforatable in our lives and it really stinks when of no fault of our own our world is flipped upside down. We don't know what else was happening in his life to make him cry. Maybe some compassion for the guy??????? I'm really glad he found another job, so many others have not.

[scsigurl3000]

Originally Posted by kodaka

...and you're comparing it to the loss of your CAT?

Loss of a pet is like the loss of a family member to some people. If you don't understand that, I don't know what to tell you.