"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.
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.