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@Guns4Hire
First let me thank you for taking the time to reach out and reply to my post. I appreciate it.
I am basically a poster child for the economic situation. There seems to be a huge divide where you either have a decent job and are making it fine, or you are like me. The middle ground is much different than what it used to be in the 90's.
100% of the work I have gotten since getting out of college in late 2007 has been through friends/family. Take it from me, searching for a job the traditional way like sending out resumes, and going door to door is simply impotent now. Sure, it could happen, but the chances are incredibly slim. This is why in November, the government numbers pointed to the fact that around 300'000 people in the US just shrugged their shoulders, gave up looking for work, and left the workforce. This phenomenon has been going on for at least the last nearly two solid years, which is a major reason the (U3) unemployment number seems to be going down, but the unemployment reality gets worse. Furthermore, it explains in the same report it that the average time people are unemployed between jobs now has risen to around 50 weeks. Close to one year.
I have not had to wait that long, it is usually around 4-6 months between jobs though, no joke. To make things worse, all the work is temporary/part-time and always minimum wage, which means I cannot afford to live on my own.
The reason why my mother still works is because she has to in order to supplement the losses in her retirement. She works part time at a K-Mart, which she got through family, but cannot stop now because of the inflation in the cost of living (gas/food/rent etc). To say nothing of the devaluing purchasing power of the Federal Reserve note.
People always come at me with the McDonalds thing. Which is another perception that comes from the 90's where anyone could walk into any McDonalds and get a job. It is simply not like that anymore I am afraid. As for waiting tables, that is an interesting one. I waited tables from off and on from 1998 to basically 2003. I know that in days past the turnover rates for wait staff was high, but not anymore.
With my time I have been writing/editing/publishing novels and short non fiction works. Also I have been involved with the OWS movement and will be attending the massive action taking place on the 12th across the entire west coast. Cheers and Solidarity to you. Thanks again for reaching out, it felt really good to know someone read my post, and had the heart to say hi.
sincerely,
Damien
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