Confessions of a U-Sixer
I am a happy member of the U-6. http://portalseven.com/employment/unemployment_rate_u6.jsp
It had been 80 years since the bankers plunged us into a depression. I suppose we were over due. The bankers lobbied hard and bought the best politicians they could in order to get the controls lifted. It worked. Maybe this time would be different, the bankers thought.
The only thing different this time around is our abject failure to collectively call this what it is. In 1929 we called it the Great Depression. This time we call it the Great Recession. The only difference is that we haven't re-installed the controls. Or plotted a solution. It is a mess. And we have an idiot for a leader. "President Talks a Good Game" but never brings one.
So here I am. A grain of sand on the beach. Mr. U-6.
Call me a pessimist but I always plan for the worst possible outcome. That is to say, when I buy equities, silver, a house, or a car I always ask, "What is the worst thing that could happen?" And then I say, "Can I live with that outcome?"
It works on virtually everything. I exclude death in most instances.
Now I got home late last night. After all of the unpacking, I got on line. I looked at the usual dearth of jobs. Ohhh, they are shitty. They pay poorly and they offer no benefits. I have been doing this, on and off, for 3 years.
In fact, most jobs are simply not resume' worthy. Sometimes I mull over actually applying for one of those crappy 9 dollar an hour jobs. And then I don't. This is how the brain of a simpleton works.
Really crappy jobs are easy to find. Those are the ones that are open. Usually they involve submitting yourself to some humiliating form of punishment called employment. In the old days, we just came to work and worked at a somewhat leisurely pace. Those days are gone. Now you must work at a frenetic pace and often for chump change, receive no benefits, and take orders from some moron. Or be openly exploited.
Most of the time, I just can't do it. I value my freedom far more than that. I am the U-6.
I feel sorry for anyone exiting college with a tuition mortgage and entering this workplace. We passed an anti slavery law years ago. The trick now is to lure young workers into slavery voluntarily- that way nobody gets charged. You promise students' jobs if only they will pony up and get an expensive degree. Then when they exit school they will be offered some entry level job that pays peanuts from which they are supposed to pay rent, utilities, groceries, 400 dollars a month for a car and insurance. Those 4 things in Boise, a cheap place to live, will cost you a net 1700 a month. Throw in that 300-500 dollar a month tuition loan payment and we quickly arrive at 2200 a month. Another 300 a month for a high deductible health insurance policy and there you are. You need 2500 a month net money per month just to get by. Of course the government on multiple levels- is there to get their cut of your money. It will be many years before this gets any better. It will probably get far worse.
We are creating the future U-6.
Over the weekend, I think I found a way to make money writing by a person that makes money writing. The trick, as always, is to cut out the gatekeepers, filters, and middle men. Remove obstructions from free markets and amazingly enough you get- free markets. I think that's how it's going to be in this new U-6 economy. Find unconventional ways to make a living by becoming your own boss.
That's my New Year's resolution. Give up on the idea that I must find some crappy job and create one of my own with hours I like. With a boss that really cares about me.
I am a happy member of the U-6. Things could be worse. I could have a job.
It had been 80 years since the bankers plunged us into a depression. I suppose we were over due. The bankers lobbied hard and bought the best politicians they could in order to get the controls lifted. It worked. Maybe this time would be different, the bankers thought.
The only thing different this time around is our abject failure to collectively call this what it is. In 1929 we called it the Great Depression. This time we call it the Great Recession. The only difference is that we haven't re-installed the controls. Or plotted a solution. It is a mess. And we have an idiot for a leader. "President Talks a Good Game" but never brings one.
So here I am. A grain of sand on the beach. Mr. U-6.
Call me a pessimist but I always plan for the worst possible outcome. That is to say, when I buy equities, silver, a house, or a car I always ask, "What is the worst thing that could happen?" And then I say, "Can I live with that outcome?"
It works on virtually everything. I exclude death in most instances.
Now I got home late last night. After all of the unpacking, I got on line. I looked at the usual dearth of jobs. Ohhh, they are shitty. They pay poorly and they offer no benefits. I have been doing this, on and off, for 3 years.
In fact, most jobs are simply not resume' worthy. Sometimes I mull over actually applying for one of those crappy 9 dollar an hour jobs. And then I don't. This is how the brain of a simpleton works.
Really crappy jobs are easy to find. Those are the ones that are open. Usually they involve submitting yourself to some humiliating form of punishment called employment. In the old days, we just came to work and worked at a somewhat leisurely pace. Those days are gone. Now you must work at a frenetic pace and often for chump change, receive no benefits, and take orders from some moron. Or be openly exploited.
Most of the time, I just can't do it. I value my freedom far more than that. I am the U-6.
I feel sorry for anyone exiting college with a tuition mortgage and entering this workplace. We passed an anti slavery law years ago. The trick now is to lure young workers into slavery voluntarily- that way nobody gets charged. You promise students' jobs if only they will pony up and get an expensive degree. Then when they exit school they will be offered some entry level job that pays peanuts from which they are supposed to pay rent, utilities, groceries, 400 dollars a month for a car and insurance. Those 4 things in Boise, a cheap place to live, will cost you a net 1700 a month. Throw in that 300-500 dollar a month tuition loan payment and we quickly arrive at 2200 a month. Another 300 a month for a high deductible health insurance policy and there you are. You need 2500 a month net money per month just to get by. Of course the government on multiple levels- is there to get their cut of your money. It will be many years before this gets any better. It will probably get far worse.
We are creating the future U-6.
Over the weekend, I think I found a way to make money writing by a person that makes money writing. The trick, as always, is to cut out the gatekeepers, filters, and middle men. Remove obstructions from free markets and amazingly enough you get- free markets. I think that's how it's going to be in this new U-6 economy. Find unconventional ways to make a living by becoming your own boss.
That's my New Year's resolution. Give up on the idea that I must find some crappy job and create one of my own with hours I like. With a boss that really cares about me.
I am a happy member of the U-6. Things could be worse. I could have a job.
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