"All the wise heads will tell us that 8 or 9 percent unemployment – maybe even 10 percent – is the 'new normal', and that only irresponsible people want to do anything about the situation. So what I see is years of terrible job markets, combined with political paralysis."
-Paul Krugman makes me reconsider the wisdom of getting out of bed this morning. Or any morning, for that matter.
Monday, November 30, 2009
5
You are not alone in that feeling.
I've caught some sort of low-grade depression, of late. Probably because I keep reading the headlines...more troops to the Middle East, cops getting shot, health care reform sucking, friends still being laid off, reality show wanna-bees sneaking into a state dinner, teabaggers, abandoned office buildings and Palin and Beck still relevant.
I swear to God, we are about 5 years out from Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" becoming reality.
'may you live in interesting times.'
All this talk of unemployment and yet my "pool boy"* job remains unfilled almost two years after I fired my last pool boy.
*Job requirements are sleeping on a blow up mattress on my living room floor, playing xbox, cleaning the bathroom, dropping off and picking up dry cleaning, semi-regularly hanging out with me. Smoking pot is optional. Drinking on the job is required.
Pay is free room and board plus $100 per week.
I'm grateful for electricity and hot water - That's all I hope to salvage from this civilization.
in the 90s in new zealand, the unemployment rate was around 11% for years. this coincided with me leaving university and being unemployed for, oh, two years (would have been more but i left the country). everyone i knew was unemployed, save a few part-time cafe staff.
this has had no ill effect on me apart from an inability to hope for anything ever.