I Predict Unemployment to Now Improve

[billvon 3,009]

>Our military could easily become self sustaining simply by charging
>companies and countries for extraction and/or security services.

True. And we could cut costs dramatically by outsourcing many of our defense functions to someone like China or India.

[happythoughts 0]

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Their meal ticket extension now gone, My bet is they get off the couch and go find a job!

Yahoo is laying off a thousand.

Verizon will be laying off another 10,000 this year.
Rumor is that it will hit 35% of the IT management.

All the Vz IT people that I know generally work 60 hrs a week, so it is not a lack of work.

[Amazon 7]

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Their meal ticket extension now gone, My bet is they get off the couch and go find a job!

Yahoo is laying off a thousand.

Verizon will be laying off another 10,000 this year.
Rumor is that it will hit 35% of the IT management.

All the Vz IT people that I know generally work 60 hrs a week, so it is not a lack of work.

Perhaps Verizon should not have tried to bone Microsoft.

KIN showed Microsoft who they could NOT trust to support the Windows Phone release.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Yeah how would that have worked out for retirees had SS been privatized years ago and now they have lost everything because they chose the "wrong" investment portfolio.

I think we have seen how well that can be managed by ordinary people and their investments huh.

Actually, this is not a difficult problem. This fear was the excuse used to squash any talk of individual accounts. If you're really worried about people making bad choices, you limit their choices. The most restrictive has you buying 10 and 30 year Treasuries. We need to sell them anyway, might as well be to ourselves. That's what the virtual lockbox was comprised of.

Even that return is better than the one you or I will receive from the current method. And gradually shifting to such accounts gets us away from the pyramid. And it also removes the (now historic) excess receipts that Congress/DC used to fund Iraq, and lots of other pet projects. It has only encouraged deficit spending over the past few decades.

If you have slightly more faith, you let the people dump it into a total market index fund, or even a cheap age fund like Vanguard's. Fully diversified, and when you dollar cost average with every paycheck, the market problems don't matter. We talked about that before - you did react last year in just about the worst ways possible. If you had no choice in the matter, you would have come out much better.

Did the new job come with a better health plan? It's a bit disappointing to hear your last one was so bad given the employer. I have 7 more months here before my job leaves to Delaware. But it seems like an active job market....for the high end. I think the less experienced and less skillful are in a different world.

[Amazon 7]

Kelp... I have lost all faith in market based ANYTHING. Too many people have been swindled just to many times for a well that was then and it would NEVER happen now.

The new job....

The money is a hell of a lot better so I will get some things paid off quicker. I figure my best investment right now is to pay off ANY debt I ran up when I had to take 100 days off from MS which has a policy that requires that for A- contractors after 1 year. At least that is a better investment since the return on anything else is so pathetic.

The up side they will hire me FTE at this place and I will actually get some decent bennies again.

The vendor I am going thru had one health plan available.... 1 I cant even pay more to get a lower deductible... higher coverage etc...

Oh and a life insurance plan that does not even cover skydiving... even if you want to pay more.... fuckers.

The whole health insurance thing and how they can legally steal your money and claim preexisting conditions.. and other low life cesspool slimey lawyer tricks to enrich themselves at peoples expense has me completely and utterly steamed.

Personally I support dismantling ALL of their companies Paying ALL of their assets in FINES and going to a public option. Too many people believe that would be soooooo terrible.. but ya know what... I think people would actually get their bills paid and not have a few insurance execs bilking the people of the money they should be paying all the while paying themselves millions in bonuses for ripping people off.

Yeah yeah... I know it NEVER happens to anyone in America I am just hallucinating... but it IS happening to more and more Americans.

( And to the Insurance guy who wants to make excuses for his "industry yet again.... go pound sand)

Maybe if a few of these fuckers get shot by people who have had their family members murdered at the hands of the insurance companies or have lost everything to medical bills because their insurance company needed to pay out bonuses rather than the bills of the insured they will start thinking about the consequences of devastating people lives for fun and profit.


These muthurfuckin DOGS are well fed .. where is the needle to put them down and in the ground.

[labrys 0]

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In SC, the employer pays, not the employee

Aside from the military, I've always worked for small, private companies and I've always felt that my job mattered WRT to the bottom line. When I'm contributing, my efforts are helping to provide the funds that pay the unemployment insurance.

In that respect I'm paying in, even as an employee.

Owned by Remi #?

[rushmc 23]

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Their meal ticket extension now gone, My bet is they get off the couch and go find a job!

Saddly it appears there are fewer jobs for them to find

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575652483381208608.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

And ABC talks about why Obama is in Afganistan today
http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1012/obamas_surprise_causes_media_spat_.html

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[marks2065 0]

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I personally know 2 people who have milked the system for all it's worth..

I know 4 that didn't look for jack until the very end also. My lazy ass cousin surprised me though. He found a new job after 4 weeks. I thought for sure he would ride those checks till the very end.

today is december 3. marked on calender. There is finally 1 post from you that I agree with.
Gee I lost my job at that little software place East of Seattle on 22 OCT 2010.

I started my new gig with a $30K a year raise the following Monday.

I think people who "milk" the system are just dumbasses. I like my lifestyle.. and I am willing to work to afford that. It seems to work out pretty good for me
The problem is that there are a LOT of people out there that need that safety net THEY HAVE BEEN PAYING INTO FOR YEARS.

Until those who have done so incredibly well in the BILLIONS of dollars a year decide to trickle on the little people though the pain will go on.

Help those who need help( and there are LOTS of them) and those who do rip off the system.. they need to be legally knee capped.

[marks2065 0]

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I personally know 2 people who have milked the system for all it's worth..

I know 4 that didn't look for jack until the very end also. My lazy ass cousin surprised me though. He found a new job after 4 weeks. I thought for sure he would ride those checks till the very end.

Gee I lost my job at that little software place East of Seattle on 22 OCT 2010.

I started my new gig with a $30K a year raise the following Monday.

I think people who "milk" the system are just dumbasses. I like my lifestyle.. and I am willing to work to afford that. It seems to work out pretty good for me
The problem is that there are a LOT of people out there that need that safety net THEY HAVE BEEN PAYING INTO FOR YEARS.

Until those who have done so incredibly well in the BILLIONS of dollars a year decide to trickle on the little people though the pain will go on.

Help those who need help( and there are LOTS of them) and those who do rip off the system.. they need to be legally knee capped.

dec 3 2010 marked on calender finally a post I agree with you on.

[tkhayes 348]

Hmm, I thought corporate profits were through the roof?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/23/corporate-profits-q3-2010-_n_787573.html

So now all those corporations and rich people should be hiring people right? After all, that is what they say they will do when we lower taxes and there is more money in the pot - it all trickles down to the little guy right?
http://www.cnbc.com/id/38682634/Would_Cutting_Corporate_Taxes_Jumpstart%C2%A0_US_Economy

Oh but that's right - it is just an opinion, NOT reality.

The reality is that the rich get richer not matter what, and the poor get poorer at the expense of the rich, but the rich keep the politicians in office so they get what they want.

Oh there I go again with my commie Canadian socialist thinking.....

[billvon 3,009]

>The reality is that the rich get richer not matter what . . .

Not quite true. Madoff comes to mind. A lot of people have lost a lot of money over the past 3 years.

>and the poor get poorer at the expense of the rich

I don't think that came out right; that reads "the poor get poorer and the rich pay for it." And again, not quite true; I know some pretty low income people who have made a lot of money, even in the past 5 years which haven't been good for anyone.

In general, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is true, though. It's not some evil plot - it's the reality of the situation. In general, people who are good at making money become rich, and then become richer. People who are terrible at making money start out poor and don't make much money.

Take two people - one who started his own company with startup capital, the other who has never worked more than 2 months consecutively in his life. Now take away everything they own and deport them to another country. Which one is likely to have more money in 10 years?

>but the rich keep the politicians in office so they get what they want.

Well, they certainly try, but then so does everyone. You could as easily say "welfare recipients keep the politicians in office so they get more welfare" and you'd be just as right.

[tkhayes 348]

I disagree

[ridestrong 1]

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>The reality is that the rich get richer not matter what . . .

Not quite true. Madoff comes to mind. A lot of people have lost a lot of money over the past 3 years.

>and the poor get poorer at the expense of the rich

I don't think that came out right; that reads "the poor get poorer and the rich pay for it." And again, not quite true; I know some pretty low income people who have made a lot of money, even in the past 5 years which haven't been good for anyone.

In general, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is true, though. It's not some evil plot - it's the reality of the situation. In general, people who are good at making money become rich, and then become richer. People who are terrible at making money start out poor and don't make much money.

Take two people - one who started his own company with startup capital, the other who has never worked more than 2 months consecutively in his life. Now take away everything they own and deport them to another country. Which one is likely to have more money in 10 years?

>but the rich keep the politicians in office so they get what they want.

Well, they certainly try, but then so does everyone. You could as easily say "welfare recipients keep the politicians in office so they get more welfare" and you'd be just as right.

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I disagree

You might disagree but he is dead on right.

Some people are simply inherently lazy and will never be 'rich'.

While others continuously work hard, are smart with their money and will become and stay 'rich'.

I don't see how you can argue against that.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[kallend 2,032]

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Their meal ticket extension now gone, My bet is they get off the couch and go find a job!

Right - that will magically create jobs. Great thinking!

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[jclalor 12]

8 years under Clinton, the rate goes down. Dubya gets into office with his tax cuts for the wealthy and the rate goes up.

http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp


Don't you hate it when the facts get in the way.

[tkhayes 348]

I doubt there are any more ambitious or lazy people than there were 30 years ago. But there certainly are more poor people AND more extremely rich people than 30 years ago any way you look at it. You cannot characterize them 'poor people' as lazy and expect it to stick.

Hence I disagree

And Madoff was a criminal, he did not 'lose' any money, he lost other people's money.

The current state of rich is still extremely rich and it is mostly due to tax cuts and favorable corporate de-regulation (for the corporations and the rich)

When we had high(er) taxes, we had better social programs, less unemployment and fewer poor people - figure it out.

[mnealtx 0]

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8 years under Clinton, the rate goes down. Dubya gets into office with his tax cuts for the wealthy and the rate goes up.

http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp

Rate looks pretty stable until the Dems took over Congress

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Don't you hate it when the facts get in the way.

I guess you do.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Bolas 5]

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I doubt there are any more ambitious or lazy people than there were 30 years ago. But there certainly are more poor people AND more extremely rich people than 30 years ago any way you look at it. You cannot characterize them 'poor people' as lazy and expect it to stick.

Hence I disagree

And Madoff was a criminal, he did not 'lose' any money, he lost other people's money.

The current state of rich is still extremely rich and it is mostly due to tax cuts and favorable corporate de-regulation (for the corporations and the rich)

When we had high(er) taxes, we had better social programs, less unemployment and fewer poor people - figure it out.

We also had a cold war and many less industrialized and educated nations.

It's a world economy and corporations are going to go where they think they can operate for less. Unfortunately tax breaks and grants are now a part of that.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[Amazon 7]

I wonder at what point the people who own those corporations are going to figure out that bottom line thinking above all else is a National Security issue.

It they continue to remove the ability of Americans to afford their goods and services with a lack of jobs, their bottom line will suffer.

[Bolas 5]

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I wonder at what point the people who own those corporations are going to figure out that bottom line thinking above all else is a National Security issue.

It they continue to remove the ability of Americans to afford their goods and services with a lack of jobs, their bottom line will suffer.

Not really. As other countries are getting more advanced, they will simply shift their markets more to them. Additionally that's long term thinking, most corporations barely think beyond the next quarter.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[billvon 3,009]

>I doubt there are any more ambitious or lazy people than there were 30
>years ago.

Agreed.

>But there certainly are more poor people AND more extremely rich
>people than 30 years ago any way you look at it.

More extremely rich people - agreed.

More poor people - disagreed. The standard of life has been improving in most places on the planet over the past century.

>And Madoff was a criminal, he did not 'lose' any money

He used to be very rich. Now he's poor. An example of the rich getting poorer.

>The current state of rich is still extremely rich and it is mostly due to tax
>cuts and favorable corporate de-regulation (for the corporations and the
>rich)

That's certainly part of it. But on an inflation adjusted percentage, the "state of rich" has remained pretty constant throughout the decades - even when the highest tax bracket was 70%.

>When we had high(er) taxes, we had better social programs, less
>unemployment and fewer poor people - figure it out.

Not in general; there's no obvious correlation. For example, in 1964, federal taxation as a share of the economy was 17.5 percent, while unemployment was at 5.2 percent. In 1965 they were reduced to 17 percent of the economy. Unemployment dropped to 4.5 percent.

In general, the 'state of the poor' in the US depends primarily on the strength of the economy - and the economy is largely independent of the level of taxation (within limits, of course.)

[Amazon 7]

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I wonder at what point the people who own those corporations are going to figure out that bottom line thinking above all else is a National Security issue.

It they continue to remove the ability of Americans to afford their goods and services with a lack of jobs, their bottom line will suffer.

Not really. As other countries are getting more advanced, they will simply shift their markets more to them. Additionally that's long term thinking, most corporations barely think beyond the next quarter.

Perhaps the American people should HELP them with their thinking.

Start buyin American products made by American companies by Americans.

If people want to keep their jobs they need to think beyond the next quarter like many of the countries we are competing against.

The best deal for quality products is not be the cheapest in the long run.

[kelpdiver 2]

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8 years under Clinton, the rate goes down. Dubya gets into office with his tax cuts for the wealthy and the rate goes up.

http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp


Don't you hate it when the facts get in the way.

if you grossly ignore the events of the time, maybe.

The late 90s was fueled by a boom that busted in 2000, along with the bombings in 2001. Unemployment went up. Then you'll note it dropped back to the same 4.x% by 2006, and then the failoff begins in earnest in 2008.

An attempt to tie this to the tax cuts in 2001 fails.

[matthewcline 0]

The flaw in the "Buy American" mantra is it is not the least expensive for the most part and in today's economy, most have to shop more frugally.

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[Amazon 7]

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8 years under Clinton, the rate goes down. Dubya gets into office with his tax cuts for the wealthy and the rate goes up.

http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp


Don't you hate it when the facts get in the way.

if you grossly ignore the events of the time, maybe.

The late 90s was fueled by a boom that busted in 2000, along with the bombings in 2001. Unemployment went up. Then you'll note it dropped back to the same 4.x% by 2006, and then the failoff begins in earnest in 2008.

An attempt to tie this to the tax cuts in 2001 fails.

Perhaps NOT cutting taxes and paying the bills would have been a better route.. but that is just me as a fiscal conservative.

Instead the administration at the time decided to go off mini-cocked into a war we did not need to fight ensuring a doubling of what was a horrendous debt.

I owe I owe.. so off to work I go..