patrick.net

looks like medical field is the only stable field out there. doesn't help with insane medical costs in this nation of course.

Dan8267 says

permanent_marker says

Engineers with good skills have no problem landing on good paying jobs.

Unfortunately, that is not true. I know of a few very good engineers who can’t get jobs because they can’t sell themselves. This is especially true about older software developers because the employers think that no one over 50 can program. Outsourcing has also undermined software engineering. $5/hr programmers sounds appealing to dumb execs who don’t understand the concept of quality and protecting intellectual property.

I use modern things but still code in Fortran, BASIC, Ladder Logic, etc. Trust me, there are many companies still using this stuff in operations because it works and isn't worth the expense of modernizing it. You can't outsource this work; have to be here for constant updating and testing.

Plenty of jobs for engineers out there, they just might involve moving and/or a field you don't like, but they're there.

yea, the same thing happened to me. i guess i am in an insulated bubble. i know a couple of people who had smaller bonuses, but that is it.

the recession was great for me because i kept my job and i was able to buy a lot of stock at fire sale prices.

Since you live in Newbury Park, Burritos, you must remember Amgen (100s of layoffs),
Countrywide in Calabasas, Hollywood writers strike, --the ripple effect was huge. If you are in the medical field, be ready for in huge influx of competition, as displaced professionals pile into your domain and create overflow and wage reductions.

I would take this economic recession very seriously. Your post sounds flip and selfish. Or just uninformed. And I am quite certain the Conejo Valley is Heloc'd to the hilt. I know the plastic surgeons out there are working deals---that should tell you something.

shrekgrinch says

corntrollio says

Why do you think a politician could have saved either of your jobs? Moreover, why would you should be dependent on a politician to do so?

Because that one PROMISED unemployment would peak at 8% and go down if we just supported his policies, that’s why.

Unless he called you personally, you are sadly mistaken:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jul/13/george-will/will-obama-said-stimulus-would-cap-unemployment-8-/

I had a 25% pay cut in 2010. Several of my coworkers hours were cut below the amount that made them eligible for benefits but the company promised (in writing) to allow them to keep their benefits... then retroactively charged full price for the cost of their health insurance as well as deduct any vacation time they took from their checks. One of my coworkers suffered a heart attack the day that they received a paycheck that was less than $5.00.

That corporation is now sold, having lost several lawsuits in the millions for providing substandard care. I'm proud to say that I don't work there any more - by choice.

25 Million americans are on food stamps, don't kid yourself that the world isn't on fire.

Not saying that the recession is not bad, but I always see people buying food at Whole Foods with food stamps, what's the deal with that? There's once I followed a woman on food stamp out to her car, and she was driving a much better car than mine, I am wondering if there is a number I should call to report abuse?

OO says

Not saying that the recession is not bad, but I always see people buying food at Whole Foods with food stamps, what’s the deal with that? There’s once I followed a woman on food stamp out to her car, and she was driving a much better car than mine, I am wondering if there is a number I should call to report abuse?

Just dial:

1-BHN-DPA-YMNT
or
1-BOR-ROW-DCAR

Most countries have 10+% unemployment rate and $1 per hour labor cost.

US will reach that.

OO says

Not saying that the recession is not bad, but I always see people buying food at Whole Foods with food stamps, what’s the deal with that? There’s once I followed a woman on food stamp out to her car, and she was driving a much better car than mine, I am wondering if there is a number I should call to report abuse?

Food stamps (now cards) are issued to the users - some people prefer to spend the money on ramen and other foods that go further. Some people prefer fresh foods, or treat themselves sometimes.

I've heard people complain because a person on foodstamps bought steak while they ate hamburger... what right do you have to judge what someone else eats or drives or does? The federal guidelines for food stamps is the determining factor, which is why the old guy who won the lotto is still eligible for them. Once a person is in public housing, the only determining factor is their income. So someone who won the lotto would be eligible for continued occupancy, albeit at a higher rental amount.

It's none of your business what they drive. Maybe they borrowed the car or haven't made the payment (as CC res says); or maybe that's the only car they have and if they sell it, they have no way to get another and no alternate transportation. It might not have any equity at all...

elliemae,

the point of the food stamp is to fill their stomach, not to have them eat better than me the taxpayer. And as far as I understand, the max food stamp per month in CA is $300 per person, and this person blew a hundred on very few items, and he definitely didn't have enough to buy food to last him a whole month. Just by looking at what he got, I could figure out that he was most likely NOT reliant on food stamp, but use it as a supplement.

Food stamp eligibility excludes owning an asset in excess of several thousand dollars if I remember correctly, and if someone is driving a $80K car that uses premium gas only, even if he borrows, I highly doubt that someone with no income at all can borrow that much.

Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps are all subject to severe abuse and fraud. As someone who is PAYING for the food stamp program, I feel every single right to look at the people living on MY dough if they are really in need, or they are just fraud cases.

OO says

Not saying that the recession is not bad, but I always see people buying food at Whole Foods with food stamps, what’s the deal with that? There’s once I followed a woman on food stamp out to her car, and she was driving a much better car than mine, I am wondering if there is a number I should call to report abuse?

I'll tell you a big secret: women have boyfriends.
For a while, my GF (now my wife) was a student with virtually no income, and thus got student aid and other low-income things. While she drove my Mercedes, dined with me in Michelin-rated restaurants, and vacationed in luxury foreign resorts. Anything illegal about that?

Fisk

nothing illegal about that. But then I always believe welfare should be distributed in kind, instead of cash for food stamps, people should be given free access to an all-you-can-eat soup kitchen. Instead of section 8, they should be given a room at a project, then I guarantee the welfare recipient number will drop quite significantly, because in your GF's case, she probably would rather skip the soup kitchen and dine with you instead.

OO says

I always believe welfare should be distributed in kind

blockquote>

I like that. I can see Jamie Dimon manning the ladle at the soup kitchen, Lloyd Blankfein doing God's work cleaning the floors at the project, etc., etc.