All Right, What's Next?

Longtime readers might notice that I've changed the formatting here a bit. The new font may have a bit of a Southern accent. It should; it's called "Georgia" and I happen to like it. Peachy, if you ask me. I also changed the margins to be flush left and right. That gives it a nice, neat look. No doubt these things will go over most people's heads and they won't care or notice. That's OK. What really matters anyway is the content of what I write. So why did I write all this nonsense to get started? Because I spilled something on my keyboard and wanted to make sure the keys were all unstuck after I cleaned it up. Exxxxxcept for the xxxxx key, all is good.

Today's episode may contain some scary things, like my opinions about a few things, along with a little advice. So before we get into the meat of it, please take note:

Listen to Chimichanga. He is smarter than you think he is. Those giant ears aren't just for looks, y'know. Chimi can hear a penny hit the ground a mile away—and he knows where, too. What is this "Chimichanga" creature? Your worst nightmare, that's what. He may look like a harmless, fluffy little critter from a National Geographic documentary, but Chimi is in fact a killer chinchilla with a bad attitude and an appetite for blood—yours. Among his peers, he's known as "Chinzilla." You can't see the tattoo because it's on his belly, but he'll gladly turn over and give you a close-up right in your face. Look at him carefully...would you dare to mess with anything like that? I didn't think so.

So, what's next, you ask? Good question. That's why we're here today. Let's take a look at a few things, shall we? You can stop reading any time you want, but just make sure it's OK with Chimi before you actually walk away. Or given Chimi's record, try to walk away is about as far as you'll get.

Firstly, I recently read that many companies will not hire a person who has been out of work for six months or longer. To me, that kind of thinking is a supersized order of McStupid, and here's why: while it is true that a person who hasn't worked for a long time may have skills that are a bit tarnished, with most people, it all comes back fairly quickly once the person is back behind a desk, machine, etc. Sort of like riding a bike—you never forget. To reject anyone like this is like passing up perfectly good food because it's not as warm as you'd like it to be. As the good Lord gave us microwave ovens to heat up food, He also gave us something called "patience," which too many upper management types seemed to have left in their other outfit. Surely they must know that it costs less in the long run to hire someone older with basic skills, a good work ethic, and the likelihood to stick to the job than it does to hire someone who just got out of college and will stay for a half hour before wanting to do something else. Young people these days tend to do just that. (I've seen it.) But management doesn't always "get it." In fact, I've long said that the higher you go, the less oxygen there is.   Think about that. It's true that the college kid may have a fresh view on things, learn quickly, and an endless supply of energy, but he hasn't been put to the test. For whatever reason, many young people these days have the attention span of dust. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against young 'uns—I even have have one. But experience is invaluable, and I have a lot of experience. And despite being over 50, I do learn quickly. The whole rehiring/retraining process is incredibly expensive for a company. (By the way, regarding patience, I'm not including doctors—their patients are out in the waiting room reading the latest about Watergate in Life magazine.)

Secondly, while we're on the subject of patience, just what happens to some people when they get behind the wheel of their car? For instance, what makes people think they can drive their car by sitting in your back seat? When they tailgate, aren't they that close? I never understood the need to see what's in the guy's trunk ahead of me. As a driver, there is no need for me to be able to see the hair in your nose or count your freckles, either. Do you think I'm going to speed up when I'm at the limit already? No! I don't want a ticket. Y'think I'll move over to the side of the road just to let you by? Not likely. Then...BACK OFF!  Patience, Grasshopper, or you'll get a complimentary brake check.

Thirdly, while we're on the subject of giving someone space, we have to remember that some people already have space—right between their ears! Those people have what I call "Wind Tunnel Syndrome." (After all, isn't everything outside of normal a "syndrome" these days?)   Here, though, I'm talking about letting others have some time or distance to themselves if they need it. If you're married, let your husband go watch a football game with his buddies. Why drag him to go look at curtains at the mall? Let your wife go shopping with her pals and make your own damned sammich. Besides, since she's not home, put extra bacon on it. Your kid wants to sit over in the corner of the yard studying bugs by himself? Don't send his sister over and force him to share the experience with her. Such was my childhood, and look where it led—I've gone to the blogs.

Fourthly (and if I keep thinking of more things, I'm sure I'll get to "eleventhly" and sprain my tongue), who taught people how to spell? I already wrote about this (read it here), so I'll keep this short. Some people who call me a friend also call me a spelling and grammar Nazi because of my obsession with following the rules with regard to spelling and grammar, and how so many people fail to do so. Just click the link in pink and read what I wrote. See how short I made this?

Fifthly, if that's even a word, before you go out somewhere, kindly consult a mirror. There is nothing so threatening to the visual environment than having to look at someone who can't tell that the size S shirt doesn't fit over rolls and rolls of bodily acreage. Not even in Acreage, Alaska [rim shot]. Those size three jeans will not hold up (or stay up) on a body with a double-digit size beginning with a 2. And if this is the case, please consider doing a couple of things: wear appropriate sized clothing, and invest in a gym membership. Sorry to be nasty, but with some effort, you'll end up looking and feeling a lot better. And so will our eyes.

Sixthly—and finalthly, if you have children, please teach them some basic manners. No one wants to hear your little darlings scream in the library or in a store. No one wants to fall over them while they're running around playing because Mom and Dad are too busy doing other things. All children get tired or bored easily. Take them outside when they start acting up in a restaurant or church or an office. Even better still, teach them the appropriate behavior in the first place.

Before I sign off here, I just realized something—I never did answer the question, "What's Next?" Could that have been on purpose? After all, not answering it gives me an excuse for writing more stuff for you. ;)

What Are We Doing to Ourselves?

As I mentioned on Facebook, this entry will have no humor (well, some might sneak in, but that's par for the course when I come around).  So if you came here today expecting a jokefest, then turn back now.  And keep in mind that this is solely my opinion---venting, if you will.  Word of warning:  I'm going to do some rambling.  Any of you who are still reading are more than welcome to provide input if you choose to do so.  Here goes...

Many of you know that during the last five years or so I can't seem to keep a job longer than about 20 minutes.  I haven't been let go because I am an abysmal failure, because I surf the web instead of doing my work, or because my co-workers loathe the very sight of me or anything like that.  I lose jobs because the projects end, the contract is up, the work goes to someone else, another company buys the one I'm working for and reorganizes, etc., etc., etc.  I've been through all of that, and I know I'm not alone.

What is it going to take to get this country back on track?   How many people have to lose their homes, have their families broken up, and go through the miserable suffering that our sour economy has brought us the last few years?

Even worse is how the fatasses in the Elephant Party blame the jackasses in the Donkey Party for everything, and vice versa.  It's not unlike watching a bunch of spoiled kids play---and they get big salaries to boot.  How some of these people got into office in the first place astounds me.

What I found pathetic is how the previous governor of my home state of Cali Failifornia made state employees take unpaid furlough days because the elected officials couldn't reach an agreement on the state budget.  Innocent people had to take days off without pay while the dolts in Sacramento were paid in full while they had their little slappy-fights with each other?  I have never been a fan of Jerry Brown, but I have to admit that he's done some growing up since his Governor Moonbeam days of the mid- to late '70s and early '80s.  Unlike Ah-nold, he docked the legislators' pay until they agreed on a budget---clearly the right thing to do.

On the national level, many are jumping all over President Obama because he didn't snap his fingers and make all of the problems go away.  These problems have been long in coming---and will be long in resolving.  The economy has its own cycle, and has ever since there's even been an economy.

Is anyone in particular even at fault?  That's hard to say.  Many banks took advantage of people who wanted to own homes back in the middle of the 2000s.  People got suckered into mortgages that they really couldn't afford with "teaser" loans---easy to pay at first, but after five years were hit with payments that had doubled or worse.  And while many of those poor folks had to dump their homes in short sales or lose them altogether to foreclosure, many of the banks got a nice bailout from the government, as did some big corporations---notably General Motors.  The government seemed to forget that its job is to "govern," not run businesses.  Who stepped in to help "the little guy?"  Are those crickets I hear?

Now, is our present state of things a recession or a depression?  It never seems to get better, whereas previous recessions caused a dip or a ripple, then went away so prosperity can return.  But this one is so stubborn that many aren't so sure that it's "just a lil ol' recession."  And I'm not so sure, either.

The question is what do we do to fix this?  Many people  make suggestions like "Bring manufacturing back to the U.S."  "Make CEOs take major pay cuts."  "Buy American, and only American."  "Hire more people."  All of those are very good ideas.  But easier said than done.  I will give my take on each of these thoughts, one at a time.  And remember, it's just my opinion and not necessarily "right."

"Bring manufacturing back to the U.S."  It would be wonderful to bring manufacturing back here to the U S of A.  But labor is too expensive.  Some people made incredible amounts of money doing jobs that required some training and not much more.  I'll say it right in public---I'm not a union supporter.  Never have been.  Unions had their place and we have them to thank for getting laws into place to protect workers from the horrible abuses they suffered a century ago at the hands of unscrupulous employers.  Today, however, some of their demands are just too much.  There are situations where you just cannot get rid of a bad worker no matter how bad they are.  Protecting a person who isn't doing their job is the wrong thing to do because there is no incentive for them to do what's right.  Would unions make concessions?  We can hope, but that will be a tough one.

"Make CEOs take major pay cuts."  Trying to get CEOs to take cuts in their seven- and eight-digit salaries is sort of like trying to make a cat do...well, anything.  It's unpossible.  Just once I'd like to see some corporate executive have the balls to voluntarily lower his own salary to "poverty" level---you know, in the five-digit range---and put the extra back into the company to hire more people, develop new products, or make improvements to the company.  Any of those things could generate the need for more people.

"Buy American, and only American."  Buying American is not as easy as it sounds.  I laugh at the e-mails going around encouraging people to refuse items made in other countries and only buy things made in America.  When you need an item that is no longer made in the U.S., you have to take what they have, regardless of where it came from.  But I will agree with one point of this:  if you do have a choice, choose the American-made one even if it is a bit more expensive.  Here's an example:  As an insulin-dependent diabetic, I need alcohol swabs to clean insulin injection sites on my body, and the swabs do the job nicely.  At one point, I was buying store brand swabs because they were less expensive.  I thought it was just because they were thinner.  No, it was because they were made in China.  The BD brand ones are thicker---and made in the U.S.  They're a bit more expensive, but I get them anyway.  I like to think that I'm doing my part to help keep jobs here.

We have to be willing to ignore the temptation to buy things at the lowest cost possible.  That's what Walmart is doing wrong now.  In order to cut prices the way they do, they have to sell things that are not made in America.  Sam Walton didn't start the company doing that.  To be fair, when he started Walmart, most things were made in America, but of course that has changed.  People who don't have jobs buy things for as little as possible to save money, which means buying foreign made goods.  More foreign made goods means fewer jobs in the U.S., which means more people out of work which means more people buying foreign goods.  It's a vicious cycle indeed.

"Hire more people."  Hiring more people would be wonderful, but as I've already pointed out, labor in America is expensive.  In order for a company to make a profit, they have to make cuts somewhere, and in their view, labor is a good place to start given its cost.

For decades, each generation has fared better than their parents' generation for the most part.  Sad to say, my generation is the first in decades that did not.  Some of today's young people have been called lazy.  Some are, of course, but most are more than happy to jump in and get the job done.  Companies aren't paying as well.  A lot of people my age have had to go back and live with Mom and Dad because they just can't make it on their own.

As long as foreign labor and materials are cheaper, it will be more profitable for most companies to manufacture goods elsewhere.  However, I like to think that there is a big pendulum swinging back and forth.  Right now, that pendulum is swung the other way, but it's on its way back.  A slow swing, perhaps, but a swing nonetheless.