Tough old Xmas

[themightysrc 5]

Well there you go.

 

I had a job in a local authority sorting out the libraries, however due to spending cuts that's my job gone down the road. Simply gone.

 

Can someone please explain to me how I - the IT specialist in the local authorities library service - caused the financial maestrom that's hit us these last few few years, because I'm f***ed if I can explain it, and, at the age of 48, I'm looking forward to a life on £65 a week (job seeker's allowance) until I "retire".

 

I'm looking at all of you who've championed neoliberal economics for the last 30 years,

 

Am I angry?

 

Damn right I'm f***ing angry - your economic and political bulls**t is materially harming my life.

Edited December 14, 2010 by themightysrc

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Well that just sucks. I hope you'll be able to find something else soon Si. What are the prospects like there? Better than here, I hope to God.

 

.

[almccoyjr 7]

I feel your anger and the pain that will be following. I was laid off back in 5/12/09. I found out that I was in the middle of the 3rd tier, 10-13yrs, for consideration. I was "given" a severance package and later found out from a friend in corporate that I had been only the fourth person to receive one. Now that's just damn sad. The layoffs finally ended at 20 years of service. In the end, 248 people were let go.

 

After the layoff, I could have had a job with other companies IF I was willing to move myself/wife to one of a couple of states located in the northeast, mid-west, west or northwest where there was no family, friends or good neighbors I've come to value. That I wasn't willing to do.

 

It wasn't until this year, this season, that I realized just how lucky and fortunate I was. I've been able to reconnected with "old" friends, have gone to more family reunions, homecomings, and have been able to share the pain of funerals without worrying about "Monday". The time away from work has given way to rediscovering self, wife and all of our families and friends. The money is tight, but having been down that road before, it's not so bad.

 

Good will come if you let it; just don't let the anger turn.

 

As to your question of why: good question. It would probably be better to put your inquiry about the "financial maestrom" and "neoliberalism" in another forum where the resulting impact of so many zeros have had on the pluses of the world could be openly and honestly hashed out. And there are just just to many zeros in the world now. Be it government or business, their impact has become devastating.

 

I hope everything works out.

 

plug_nickel

Edited December 15, 2010 by almccoyjr

[carrick58 23]

It sucks. As for me, I was lucky enough to be qualified for retirement at the time everything went bad. So maybe I lucked out but it sure don't feel like it.

[Javito1986 14]

Dammit old boy, once again the least deserving are footing the bill for this economic mess. What can one do but soldier on?

[Slartibartfast 153]

Sorry to here that... As a fellow IT professional I feel for you, so instead of doing what they should be doing and sacking the quango's or whatever they are called now they sack the hard working people at the bottom of the pile disgusts me to be honest.

 

I got lucky as I got my job at the wrong side of 30 and then they moved me out of the UK to Vienna... so have hope I know its tough to hear but have hope.

[Hasse Wind 46]

I'm really sorry to hear that, themightysrc. I know how it feels; I've seen my share of unemployment over the years. But don't give up hope. You'll never know what may happen.

 

It's always the normal, decent people who suffer from the idiocy and greed of bankers, politicians and other robber barons and bloodsuckers. If a banker makes a mistake, it's not a big deal, because he and his criminal buddies will be saved by taxpayer money, no matter how high the cost. When business is good, they do their best so that they never have to share any of the wealth. But it never works like that for the common people. Nobody gives a damn about their well-being, least of all the politicians.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

It seems to get worse with every election as well, with the number of corrupt and self-serving politicians ever increasing, along with the corrupt and self-serving lawyers, judges, and corporation heads. To paraphrase the HHGTTG: Their all a bunch of smarmy-faced bastards who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.

 

And to those in my own country who seem convinced we couldn't possibly have another revolution in the US...just keep going with that logic. The seeds have been sown so thick for such an event that it is just about inevitible at this point, IMHO. The 30% of the population who is now footing the bill for the other 70% above and below them has had more than enough of business as usual, (and they are a well-armed 30%). Add to that a volunteer military that has been stretched ever-thinner in endless conflicts around the globe with no sign of relief in sight for them either and you have a ominous combination.

 

Sorry...off my soap box now. Si, I honestly feel for you Sir, and wish you the best for the future. As others have noted here, perhaps this will ultimately prove a positive thing, though right now it can't possibly appear that way to you. If there is something we can do to help, let us know.

 

.

[Flyby PC 23]

No, it doesn't have to be like that themightysrc, get yourself signed up for some training courses, and if you can't find any new job within a month, start pursuing start up grants for your own business. There's some help for you when you lose a job, not much, but working for a local authority, get them to do the legwork for you. If libraries are closing, it doesn't mean the demand for books is failing, so what's happening to all the books? Can you get hold of them? Would the Council set you up sub-contracting you to do your old job freelance? If you're sympathetic to their problems, you never know... Even a couple of months is a start...

 

Even think about a career change, even a trade if you fancy. Yes, 48 isn't young, but go for it. This country has been churning out talentless imbeciles for years and calling them tradesmen because they managed to turn up at college most of the time. They're useless. Trust me, a motivated 48 year old is much more employable than some idle frogspawn who doesn't want to be there. You're not alone at that age either, there are rafts of squaddies leaving the army/navy/police in their 30/40s and all booted out looking for new careers. If you think about it, many of their prospects are a bit grimmer than yours.

 

Get out there, be positiive and enthusiastic and opportunities will find you. Do you actually like whatever it is you do? Take the opportunity to sit yourself down, and ask yourself how rewarding it's actually been, and whether there may be something else you actually want to do, put some structure into your plans and start working your way towards doing it. Looking for a job is a grind, but less of a grind if it's a job you actually want to do. There are lots of crafts out there, stained glass is easy to pick up, then there's wood, metal, stone, clay.... sky is the limit. Hmmm, pilots license..

 

Life on the dole will eat away your soul if you let it, because you wait forever for somebody to help you. Unfortunately it's bad news because there's nobody on their way to do that, and the quicker you wise up to that the better. The best person to help you is you, and it's vital to get things started before the money and choices you can make get tight. For the next month, set your 'activity' threshold onto overload, and don't be idle until you get something happening for you. I don't know about your personal circumstances, but if there's a risk of losing your home, car or even the phone, get them working for you now while you have them to control. Better three weeks of stress than three years of it.

 

Above all else, stay positive and motivated. It's not the end of the world.

[Von Paulus 8]

I feel your pain themightysrc.

I too in the end of this month will have to shut down my little business and will be unemployed.

Because I'm self employed I don't have the right to any kind of social protection. I'm 46 years old , and in my country that's an old age for getting a job, they prefer to employ younger people. So I don't know what will be my future.

And like if that was not enough my dear wife, thought that this was the right time (last week) to ask me for the divorce, after 17 years of marriage. The best of timings. I sure appreciate her kindness. With this I'll have to have sell the house to give her half and then will have to have money for renting. Besides the emotional problems this can get me in trouble, financially speaking, if I don't find a job in the next three months.

 

Yes I'm angry, frustrated... It will be a nice Christmas for me too.

The best of luck for you mate.

 

Edit: Yes, we should hang the Chicago boys.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Von Paulus

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Holy cow VP, you are in one helluva rough patch as well. I'll be thinking of you too Sir, and will throw an extra prayer to the Man Upstairs for you and Si both. Don't lose heart Gentlemen.

 

.

[almccoyjr 7]

"GOD spede" to all of you who have been forced to take a different path.

 

plug_nickel

[Wayfarer 5]

Mightysrc, Von Paulus, sorry to hear hear of your troubles. Can't offer any better advice than Flyby's positive comments, but you have my sympathies for what its worth.

I'm waiting to see if the budget cuts in my organisation will mean I have a job or not. My wife finishes her nursing diploma next year and we aren't sure what NHS reorganisation will mean for her getting a job. It may end up with the kids keeping us yet.

My own personal political/economic rantings won't add anything useful so I won't trouble.

I hope, of course, that things eventually work out better than they look at present.

I guess you just have to stick it out for the moment, like an old BE2 full of holes, fighting a bitter Westerly, heading through the Archie to a safe billet.

[tranquillo 10]

mightysrc, Von Paulus. I feel your pain - I've "been there, done that" and could probably design the T shirt. Do your best to stay positive and get support from friends if necessary.

Both of you have an uphill struggle but there is a peak to this hill and you will reach it.

There will, no doubt, be some here that will contradict me but try not to focus too much on the future. Live your life as it is happening (even the s**t stuff). You will find that when you live life in the "now" that many positive things happen and opportunities arise. They would happen anyway but we tend not to recognise them when we are worrying about the past/future and they get missed - gone forever. As has already been said, be positive. See this as a "new beginning" and not "an end".

The anger that you may be feeling now must be resolved in order for you to move forward. Write it all down - how you feel, who you hate, what you want to do to them etc. - then burn it. It sounds silly but it works.

 

I wish you both, and any others in similar situations, a quick journey to the peak of the hill where you will, once again, be in a good place.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

You can certainly try what I do m8...be a self employed IT nerd!....do an advert, stick it in a few shop windows, get sorting home PC's...easy money

 

Been doing it for five years myself now...I will never be Bill Gates...but it keeps the Wolves from the Door.

 

Sorry about the Job...Public Sector was always gonna be hit hardest...Labour spent and spent and spent...and now, we have to pay it back!

The days of paying 1% into your pension, and sitting on a Gravy Train working for the Government is over!...Yes, it's harsh and tough...but that's what the Private sector has been like since year dot

[themightysrc 5]

Thank you everyone.

 

I was very angry when I started this thread, and I guess it should have been pulled by the mods. My thanks to them for putting up with me.

 

My sympathies go out to Von Paulus - I thought I had s**tty prospects, and then I read of your problems. They make mine seem trivial. I sincerely hope that you find a way forward for yourself.

 

For everyone else: I've had a little time to think it through, and I will be applying for jobs forthwith. Apart from my extensive IT experience (what haven't I done, I wonder?), I'm also a qualified teacher/lecturer although I don't suppose there will be many colleges taking on in the UK for some years. The Guardian's reported today that the unemployment rate in the UK has now climbed to 2,500,000, and is set to rise further.

 

I'm not despairing. All I really want to know is why I and others like me are being put out of jobs - that are worth doing - to ensure that the banks have enough money to pay their gamblers million pound bonuses when they should in fact have gone on trial for what they did to the economy, both here, in the States and elsewhere.

 

It simply seems like me and people like me are being treated as irrelevant so long as the money merry go round can continue for those most closely glued into the financial systems. I can find no reason or sense in it.

 

Thanks again for your patience.

 

Si

[themightysrc 5]

UKW

 

"Sorry about the Job...Public Sector was always gonna be hit hardest...Labour spent and spent and spent...and now, we have to pay it back!

The days of paying 1% into your pension, and sitting on a Gravy Train working for the Government is over!...Yes, it's harsh and tough...but that's what the Private sector has been like since year dot"

 

I'm not going to get into a barney with you, but I suggest that you do some research into GDP and deficit spending over the last 30 years. You might just surprise yourself. Also, until I took this job in the libraries, I'd been in the private sector in IT for 20 years. I know the score. I was simply shocked at how the guilty could get away with their actions whilst the innocent get shafted as a response.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

UKW

 

"Sorry about the Job...Public Sector was always gonna be hit hardest...Labour spent and spent and spent...and now, we have to pay it back!

The days of paying 1% into your pension, and sitting on a Gravy Train working for the Government is over!...Yes, it's harsh and tough...but that's what the Private sector has been like since year dot"

 

I'm not going to get into a barney with you, but I suggest that you do some research into GDP and deficit spending over the last 30 years. You might just surprise yourself. Also, until I took this job in the libraries, I'd been in the private sector in IT for 20 years. I know the score. I was simply shocked at how the guilty could get away with their actions whilst the innocent get shafted as a response.

 

I don't disagree with you at all m8... but democracies are just a money-go-round...The Bankers rule the economy,and therefore the Country... it's always been the same for decades

[Von Paulus 8]

My sympathies go out to Von Paulus - I thought I had s**tty prospects, and then I read of your problems. They make mine seem trivial. I sincerely hope that you find a way forward for yourself.

 

Themighty, you're problem is not trivial compare to mine. Only I'll have an extra front with which I wasn't counting for. The case has some greedy aspects. I'm paying for my mistakes and for my good will.

 

I'm not despairing. All I really want to know is why I and others like me are being put out of jobs - that are worth doing - to ensure that the banks have enough money to pay their gamblers million pound bonuses when they should in fact have gone on trial for what they did to the economy, both here, in the States and elsewhere.

 

It simply seems like me and people like me are being treated as irrelevant so long as the money merry go round can continue for those most closely glued into the financial systems. I can find no reason or sense in it.

Fully agree with you. There will be a time when there will be no money to pay for their greed. And I'm pretty sure it won't last long.

And by the way there's a good documentary that portrays well, a part of the financial mayhem in which we are leaving.

 

Thanks to everyone for your support and kind words.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Von Paulus

[BirdDogICT 3]

VonPaulus, themightysrc,

 

You're lucky to have survived all of the layoffs of the 90s here in the U.S. with corporate restructuring. At age 45, I lost my wife, house, life savings, and there weren't any jobs to be had...my career in health planning ended with a stroke of the Medicare pen. I was just one of thousands whose jobs were obsolete. I discovered that no-one cares if you make the best buggy whips in town, if no-one is buying them anymore.

 

After several years of unemployment, I finally came to grips with the fact that my executive career was gone, and there wasn't any point crying about it anymore. So I dragged out the books from college and took my state boards and went back into patient care, working weekends, holidays, night shift, anything that would earn a few bucks. I wasn't happy taking such a giant step backward, and it wasn't easy being on the bottom of the dogpile again, but after a few years of rebuilding my credibility and rediscovering that there can be joy in life, I was offered a position managing a department in a local hospital, and am now in better shape financially and spiritually than ever. The path I took was not my first choice, but oddly enough, it's where I belong.

 

Our identities are so tied up in what we do for a living, that it's hard to get past the fear and anger and start building a new life. It's painful as hell, but things do eventually get better. Don't lose hope.

[Mr_Dirt 1]

Sorry for you I too know what it is like to be unemployed at 55 yo. I spent six years in pharmacy school at the age of 42. It was great for 8 years. Then Nov of 2009 came around in the same week I learned I would have to have a double bypass on my heart and my pharmacy was closing in 4 days so I would not have any insurance unless I paid $1500.00 dollars a month. My wife's work allowed her to put me on her insurance so that helped. I became a pharmacist so I wouldn't have trouble finding a job. I was out of work for a year just went back to work for some great people. I will pray the same happens for you gentlemen. I know it sucks when you have to scramble to make ends meet.

Hoping for the best for you john

[Olham 164]

I am so sorry to hear that, mighty. I have lost my bigger customers of the 90s -

most of them don't exist anymore, or have cut their budget for commercials,

advertising and graphic designs. I am selfemployed, but on a very low income

now - you're not at all alone; even if that may not be comforting.

 

Lou, the prospects aren't good anywhere in the Western World right now.

In the EU, many may be looking on Germany, which seems to be doing so damn

great - bullsh*t; the lower middle class is dying here.

More and more people loose their jobs, and the companies try to get the same

work done with fewer people.

So those have to work increible overtimes, while others don't have work at all.

It is obvious, that this must be changed.

But - crazy as it sounds - the human employee is the highest cost factor and

therefor is getting more and more reduced.

Although everyone must realise now, that there won't be customers anymore,

when there are no incomes - no one seems to see a way out of this.

 

Von Paulus, you have been "torpedoed from both sides" so to say, and I don't

know what to say to you more than that I made the experience, that crisis is

an open door - when you have walked through it, you may find something new

and unexpected. That is what I wish for you.

Perhaps you can try, what Widowmaker suggested?

46 is still young compared to me - I'm 10 years further on the road.

Keep yourself fit, try your best, and don't give up!

 

Over christmas, I will be in Ostfriesland to visit my old mum and my sisters.

But be assured - I will think of you all.

 

[themightysrc 5]

Well, I guess I've made a decision.

 

I know I can write, and I know that I'm versed in IT. Failing any offers (thus far, none) of a job, I'm going to see how I can become an investment banker and see if I can be rewarded for pissing other people's savings and investments up the wall.

 

But seriously.

 

I'm going to write, and continue writing, until I can tell the entire world to f*** off in the hard times. I'm sure I can make it as a novelist, or, at least, a full time writer. I look at the efforts - even in the Guardian and the BBC - of others and wonder how they get away with it. Let's see if I can.

 

Until that comes to fruition, I'll whore myself out as a contract programmer, if I can, as a tutor or lecturer, if the work's there, or as a PC handyman and allegedly "knowledgeable" IT person.

 

At 48, I'm getting too old to do this sort of s**t, just because the prevailing economic thought is insanely slanted against people and for corporations, but we are simply the casualties of an ideological struggle elsewhere that benefits a tiny minority who have no need for further riches or power. That's my view, anyway, and I don't give a stuff if you don't approve.

 

Thank f*** my wife, having supported me in one career change, is willing to stand by me again.

 

Merry Xmas to everyone here. I hope you have a good one, and a New Year that isn't as horrible as mine is likely to be. If I spend less time here - and probably less time flying OFF - at least you'll know that I've not disappeared off the face of the Earth. Peace to all of you; let us hope fervently that better times are in the (near) future.

 

Cheers,

Si

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Si, you really should write for a living Sir. Your reports from the front and letters home are top hole stuff. I can easily see you building them into a novel. You get it published and I'll be one of the first to buy a copy, (autographed by the author of course).

 

 

 

.

[Javito1986 14]

You certainly do have writing talent. I recommend you pick up two books: 'Your First Novel' by Ann Rittenburg and 'On Writing' by Stephen King. The first in particular contains absolutely invaluable information not just on writing an actual book but on the way the publishing industry functions, and Stephen King talks quite a bit about the discipline required by the craft which I found helpful (even though I don't actually like any of Stephen King's books).

 

I'm actually a bit of a writer myself and descend from a family of writers that go back a ways in Hispanophone literature. Developing my own little novel on the side, though I admit I'm on a bit of a break. Letting it bake in the ol' oven while I finish up another semester at the university and play Baldur's Gate. Taking my last exam of the semester in 15 minutes actually.I'd like to get back to it by the end of January, this winter break I'll be working on two short stories I've outlined that I intend to use for my application to the 2011 Clarion Writer's Workshop (which requires two submissions).

 

No joke, a lot of what you've already written here can be applied as an outline for a novel. God knows the world needs another book on the WW1 air war.