I read this article and became really concerned, frightened even.
The figures from payroll taxes reported to the Social Security Administration on jobs and pay are, in a word, awful.
Even more alarming is this graph with the title “Fewer Jobs, Less Pay”:
And from the rest of the article:
More significantly, the number of people with any work has fallen by 5.2 million since 2007, when the worst recession since the Great Depression began, with a massive taxpayer bailout of Wall Street following in late 2008.
This means 3.3 percent of people who had a job in 2007, or one in every 30, went all of 2010 without earning a dollar.
In addition to the 5.2 million people who no longer have any work add roughly 4.5 million people who, due to population growth, would normally join the workforce in three years and you have close to 10 million workers who did not find even an hour of paid work in 2010.
That is 10 million people. 10,000,000. This is broad statistical evidence to back up Suburban’s recent anecdotal stories.
I commented to Suburban that I had largely been insulated from the economic issues since I live and work in booming Houston, Texas. I try hard to not react to anecdotes especially when they are very emotional. Instead, I try and gather broad and objective evidence that a phenomena actually exists and is verified in a systematic manner. Anecdotes are a fine starting place, but verified patterns are better. The linked article on the overall job market provides evidence that it really is bad out there and much worse than my own Houston, Texas bubble.
As a side note, that is why I am reading the work of Fernando Ferfal Aguirre who wrote a book an the Argentine currency crisis in 2001 and its after effects. I think it will have vast and deep implications regarding what is coming for Americans. I am only a few pages in, but I like his no-nonsense writing style so far. I will keep you posted!
Until then, my advice is to shore up any prepper issues you have focusing on finances, water, food, security, shelter, medical care, and energy. A storm is coming and, yes, the time is now!
It is getting worst out here. I’m 47, 20yrs sales experience, ran 2 of my own business, have a AAS and can’t get a job even as a low paying security guard. Over 400 resumes out and only one responded back.
I’ve not worked in 5yrs and since I was self-employed, no unemployment either.
I decided I could be broke and in the burbs or broke out in the country. I’ve moved back to my rural 40acre farmland and I’m getting as ready as I can for what is coming. Selling everything I don’t use or need.
Anyone want to buy a brand new M4? Never fired.
Gardens, chickens, ducks, rabbits this coming Spring, orchard next Fall. Right now, firewood and rearranging the old farm house.
Yeah, I’m on food stamps, but I only buy bulk foods. No chips, pop or lobsters, I buy what is needed.
My mother’s living with me so our expenses don’t need to be spread over 2 households. Heck, if we were not, I’d be on the street. But we aren’t that kind of people, we work together.
Too bad the rest of our relatives can’t be trusted.
Thankfully, when things were good I stockpiled large amounts of food and supplies. I’m making good use of them now and we are re-stocking as much as fast as we can.
We will sell my mother’s old home next yr, no matter how low we have to go. We know we need to get rid of it no matter what, so even a very price is better then nothing.
I can see the end coming, and it’s not going to be the nice kind like Ferfal experience either.
Think more of Yugoslavia.
Wow, Clan Wolf, one thanks for the comment, and second, I am sorry you are going through what you are going through. I was commenting to a friend in an email today about my friends in AZ that are having a tough go of it.
A couple comments or rhetorical questions. Can you not rent your mother’s house out and use that as a source of income? I am sure you have thought of this already and have your reasons. Just thinking out loud (sort of).
Sorry to hear of your rough times. Like I wrote, I knew of these difficult times a person here, a person there. It really is never personal for me because it is not a relative or neighbor. I never realized that there are 10,000,000 of these stories.
The future does not look good either. Greece is on the edge which could bring down the Euro and with it, the European banks which will ripple into US banks. The bail outs can only go so far before the losses must be taken. And it will be taxpayers around the world rather than the bankers who take the loss.
So, I keep running scenarios in my head. What if I lose my job, what if my wife loses her job, what if we both lose our jobs. How long could we survive on our savings? What costs could we cut right away and live on much less? What if the banks freeze accounts and I cannot get the cash out that I need? Even if I have cash in my safety deposit box, what happens if a government inspector is needed to access that box?
On and on such that it is starting to keep me up at night. It is not good, but false optimism is just foolishness.