Monday, July 6, 2009

Having an axe to grind and how we handle it...

Economically, I wonder if it would not be advisable to check into the solvency of a company before applying to that company for a job.

Just recently my sister-in-law, a few years younger than myself and fairly healthy, decided to go back to work and was lucky enough to find a job on her first try! She had been an executive assistant in a major communications company prior to her children’s births. Unfortunately, that part-time job, as a receptionist, was with a business that was not fiscally solid, shall we say.

Red light indicators: the first week she was asked to work nearly thirty-eight hours, but had been hired for part-time, which meant to her twenty to twenty-five hours, oh ok I make a little more my first week; she thought to herself. The next week her hours were cut back, but to only eleven hours, huh? Her paychecks were few and far between too. The first took five weeks to be received and the last was only 70% of her earned income, what?

And so being only human and not at all stupid she voiced her opinion about this unfortunate situation. But on deaf ears since her employer was not sympathetic at all and tried to explain it all away with many excuses of her own personal situation of business problems. And so my sister-in-law felt that was her employer’s problem, rightfully so and not hers.

Apparently, it upset her so much she complained and commiserated with her co-workers who too had similar issues. The employer heard about this and fired my sister-in-law for complaining to the others.
You see, the real problem is the business; a spa is going under financially, as many small businesses are in this day and age. I bet you only thought Wall Street, banks and big business had this problem, in this economy?

Solvency is necessary for everyone to have in order to do business. Most are just barely hanging in there by the skin of their teeth, so the expression goes.

The national unemployment rate is over 9%; now higher than it’s been in decades, and it’s not because hiring is going on and we just have too many people looking for work…

Although, with the way the economy is that could be part of it, so many who thought retirement was just around the corner lost hundreds of thousands in Ponzi Schemes, banks failing with their 401K’s, the bond market, and some corporations just not able to honor their pension plans and medical insurance programs that had been promised.

That is why so many seniors are back at work for insurances and loss of savings. (We weren’t promised any free insurance, and we had no savings, so you don’t miss what you don’t have. I hold my breath monthly on my hubby’s pension, but being retired law enforcement, a deputy, it is a state one, and so far so good, and with SSI we manage. It’s good that we scaled down nearly eleven years ago or it would be a much different story. Thank heaven for small things.)

Teens and younger people cannot find the jobs due to the market accepting not to have to pay older people as much as what younger people expect to be receiving for the same jobs, and so the domino theory of mine may not be that far fetched. Even economists saw this writing on the wall. We all know that most things have a cause and affect that happens on the simplest level, example: you wash the car and it rains…I know not that good an example, but you get the idea.

Today I joined the human race and did a little to help the economy in my tiny way. We did some errands, picked up my prescription then went to the warehouse club since their gas is five cents a gallon cheaper than everyone else and we filled up, lastly we went on to the mall where I went scootering (another tobism) all around and found a bargain, my salad spinner at five dollars less than anywhere else and on sale for thirty percent off too! Oh joy! My hubby got new jean shorts also at a bargain price of twelve dollars off of each pair! Terrific, all in all we saved $32 on things we both needed. No more wasting paper towels to dry my lettuce anymore, and now I am a wee bit greener, and no more holey shorts for hubby gardening either and we both became a smidge more economically cost effective.

On than positive calculation I will bid you all a good night and to all count those blessings and I will too!

Speaking My Mind: Which way will the war go?

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