unemployment

[will]

I am self employed, many of my customers are currently out of work or getting layed off. The unemployment numbers do not reflect the true picture. How many on this forum are seeing this? I still have work but pickings are slim at best. However I am still staying afloat by a thread. I am seeing several members in my ward on the verge of forclosure do to lack of employment. Many are going to the Bishop to seek for help on Mortgage payments. As the situation worsen and many members face this reality, I am hoping for either a change in the economy or a call out, if it does not happen soon I can see a depression worse than the first due to many not being self sufficent and relying on the grocery store or the government to save them. How is the Job situation in your area? I am working in Boise Idaho. The situation is troubling. Any thoughts?

[minuet1]

I live a stone's throw from Kennedy Space Center, so of course we're all watching what comrade Obama will be doing. The space industry runs our economy here. There have already been some layoffs at NASA. I freelance for the newspaper, and three times over the past 10 months the paper has cut back what they're allowing us to write about, how much space we have, etc. The community paper that I used to have 10-12 pieces in a week now only has 1-2 (along with some from others). That really hurts!!! I'm all for a callout. I'd be happy to trade the worry and stress I face as a single mother trying to provide for several children to having to do my laundry in a river and digging my privy!

[will]

My folks live in Florida, they say things are getting pretty bad. A call out and living as a group, helping and supporting other saints, I much rather work my fingers to the bone building up Zion than building up Babylon. I know I can do things here now and I strive to. However just being able to provide temporally is becomming harder everyday, things like putting food on the table is becomming harder for many families including myself and my Family. Espescially those out of work. I am grateful I am prepared. . If a call out does happen I hope it happens soon.

[joseph]

Things are still strong in the Uintah Basin. Lots of oil and gas drilling. The locals are worried about what the big O will do as far as energy policy. This area has seen several boom and busts around the oil business. Makes people nervous to have democrats control Congress and avowed anti-oil types in the white house (Obama and Biden).

[ShawnC]

I am self employed, many of my customers are currently out of work or getting layed off. The unemployment numbers do not reflect the true picture. How many on this forum are seeing this? I still have work by pickings are slim at best. However I am still staying afloat by a thread. I am seeing several members in my ward on the verge of forclosure do to lack of employment. Many are going to the Bishop to seek for help on Mortgage payments. As the situation worsen and many members face this reality, I am hoping for either a change in the economy or a call out, if it does not happen soon I can see a depression worse than the first due to many not being self sufficent and relying on the grocery store or the government to save them. How is the Job situation in your area? I am working in Boise Idaho. The situation is troubling. Any thoughts?

Hey Will,

I am in Kuna. Have been out of work for 2 months now. Trying to pick up a few odd jobs but nothing serious has come along yet. We have some reserves that we are living off of for now, and may be OK for a 5 or 6 months but not much longer. Most in my ward have work and such, but I think that things can only hold out so long. Those with jobs are losing their customers also. The Stake out here has said that requests from the Bishops storehouse for the month of November were more than they had been the whole year combined. Many people are worried but still hold on to hope. I was just speaking with my Bishop yesterday about this. My wife and I are the preparedness reps and the welfare and employment reps for the ward. I told Bishop that despite the tough times, I still get a feel that many people are not seeing what is here or coming in the near future. Many that I know have little or no preparedness are discussing remodeling their homes and taking vacations, but food storage and such seems to be a bit lower on the priority list.

Shawn

[will]

Many that I know have little or no preparedness are discussing remodeling their homes and taking vacations, but food storage and such seems to be a bit lower on the priority list.

Shawn,
with times not looking to pretty I still find it amazing that those who are or are determined to be prepared are putting the House and Vacations aside while there are those that are still focused on things that won't help them. I have seen it as well. Being prepared is a commandment. It is my fear that for many it is too late, Not because of the lack of food but because of the Lack of Money.

[a-train]

My business has been in deep trouble for months. It is actually profitable, but not enough to support my family. I now have two very stable part-time jobs and I am selling items online, but my income is not what it was. We are losing our house this month. We have had it for almost six years. My wife can't stop crying. We are going to move into an apartment. We simply cannot go on living so close to our means and I don't want to send the wife to work, we had a new baby just 4 months ago. My wife is very concerned that this could mean that we will be in a mortgage into our old age. We had planned to be without one before fifty.

Beyond that, we are relieved in many ways. We are starting to see new opportunities that being tied to that house prevented. My attitude is: These things happen. I am actually thrilled to get into a position where we have financial room to breath again. Our monthly bills will drop by more than $1,000.

It is a tough decision, but we cannot sell the house for what we owe because of the fall in housing prices. There are 4 vacant homes in my neighborhood. A member of my ward recently bought a home near us at 40% less than its asking price only months before he bought it. Another friend of mine, in a neighboring ward lost his home three years ago. He moved to a cheap duplex and saved up. He recently got a way nicer home for a lot less money and put a substantial down payment on it.

There actually has come to our attention some great new opportunities and I personally am very excited. I have little fear about buying another house some day.

-a-train

[M249Gunner]

I just spoke to a friend that I haven't seen for about a year. He told me his wife is pregnant and he has been temporarily laid off. His boss said it wasn't permanent and he is hoping to start work again in February. He works at a gravel pit, which is very dependant on the construction industry. Here in Utah, a lot of public works projects, such as major road construction in Utah County have been put on hold.

[Roark]

In talking with my bishop over tithing settlement he related to me how 15 members of my singles ward lost their jobs in just one month, and that his job wasnt all that secure either, I live in slc and paint houses and everytime im in the paint store i get comments from the guys there just how quickly everthing is slowing down.

Luckily i work for myself and have enough work to keep me busy. Ive also got my 1 year supply collected over the last year, just been buying twice the food each time i go shopping. But i doubt that even 10% of my ward has a food storage, most singles will head home when it hits hard, unfortunately it will hit them just as quick as it will anyone else.

Im also a sunday school teacher and whenever i can i implement last day preparation, prophetic warnings and secret combination issues into my lessons as much as possible. Unfortunately the gloss always seems a bit too thick over their eyes.

[Spence]

Same here. The economy really hit my work hard. The CEO just sent us an email the other day about how things seem to be improving. He did mention that they nearly did go under. I am hoping to get started freelancing with them again and at least get a little income, things appear to be getting slightly better for the time being. I am going to go interview for a job tomorrow, something I hope will be stable for the next 6 months and go talk to my recruiter.

I look forward to the future with brightness. Even though I am literally down to nearly my last dollar. I think the Lord has chastened many of us in the past year.

It's funny, my parents saw an old coworker who was on really hard times doing what he could to try to make ends meet. He used to be one of the top salesmen in a company I am sure all you are familiar with, but it is a company, which like many, relies on excess money. And people don't seem to be wanting to give it up. Thus he is out. Luckily my father was blessed with the inspiration many years ago to seek other work. So they should be stable for the foreseeable future.

I hope one of my last gifts to them before I leave, will help them cut their spending down (mostly food) so they can get out of debt twice as fast as they hoped.

I know of an Uncle who is going through some extremely difficult times. Things were great just a little while ago. But now they have no idea if or when they will be layed off. My aunt has apparently lost a great deal of weight as well. They didn't feel up to visiting for Christmas and just sent their kids. But they looked happy.

I think a lot of good can come out of this over the next 5 years or so. Maybe it is just the recipe America needs to regain her footing.

[gruden]

I am self employed, many of my customers are currently out of work or getting layed off. The unemployment numbers do not reflect the true picture. How many on this forum are seeing this?

The "official" unemployment stats definitely do not reflect the true picture, and haven't since the early 90s with the Clinton administration. The true figure is somewhere between 12-16%, which is more in line with what everyone has been seeing in real life.



My company is in the automotive industry. I'm sure everyone's heard the news about where the automakers are. The good news is my company is in both the OEM and Aftermarket business, so it isn't reliant on any one company or market. That doesn't change the fact the industry isn't in good shape. The rumors are starting to pickup about restructuring (ie. layoffs) in the next few weeks. It's pretty much an inevitability.

Another day, another round of layoffs.

I'm always glad to hear about people on this board were smart and perceptive enough to prepare. That and our faith may be what gets us through. And each other. What else do we have?

[will]

Thanks for posting that graph, I am curious what people will resort to when this situation progresses. Its a sad day when MCdonalds and Walmart have 100+ applications for every vacancy.

[SwissMrs&Pitchfire]

No question about it and getting uglier by the minute. We have had a locally bad economy for a decade, but it's getting even worse and people are (thank heaven) moving away. Population under 2000 and going down! New owner (just like last year) for the saw mill, cannery on the auction block as we speak...cuts in fish quotas...barge fuel surcharge going down but price going up due to less shipping, less tourism, increase employee comp costs... thus driving up prices (not through inflation, but up through deflationary costs like the Great Depression)...

The numbers at the height of the Great Depression were only like 25% unemployment, and by the same method of reckoning we aren't too far from that (though women work now).

It's a whole new ball game.

[SwissMrs&Pitchfire]

As a sidenote survey, How many of you are going to notice the hyper-inflationary bailout as a recipient when you get your $1000/family tax break Obamanation of Desolation is proposing? Will this turn your situation around and allow you to increase pricing pressure thus driving up the price of consumer goods like in Weimar? If not, how much would it take to turn you into a bigger consumer (than you were in the years of plenty) and thus drive UP prices like Weimar?

[Col. Flagg]

As a sidenote survey, How many of you are going to notice the hyper-inflationary bailout as a recipient when you get your $1000/family tax break Obamanation of Desolation is proposing? Will this turn your situation around and allow you to increase pricing pressure thus driving up the price of consumer goods like in Weimar? If not, how much would it take to turn you into a bigger consumer (than you were in the years of plenty) and thus drive UP prices like Weimar?

Weimar, here we come!

[SwissMrs&Pitchfire]

That's amusing since the U.S. isn't "here," it went back to 1919 last year when gold tanked if you'll remember correctly just after the IMF announced that they were slowly dumping gold just like they did right before 1980 when gold tanked for 20 years!

[jbalm]

It's difficult to envision the mechanism by which enough money would get into the hands of the people to actually cause hyper-inflation.

Short of Helicopter Ben literally living up to his nickname, that is.

[Proud 2b Peculiar]

I have a friend that is looking for work. He is the only individual I know that is out of work in this area.

We are not sure why, but my husband's company is hiring 15 new people when a couple months ago they were worried about commercial paper and using in house credit.

I tell members and nonmembers a like as much as I can to get food storage and get out of debt.

My husband was trying to do that just last night with one of his co-workers. (telling him to get out of debt, save, food storage) and the individual said that they cannot do that. They can't save, they prefer to live on credit cards. They can always make their minimums, so they will be fine, and they just got a loan for a new motorcycle with 0 down. My husband asked him what about when he loses his job? He said, oh well, I had fun!

[shadow]

they just got a loan for a new motorcycle with 0 down. My husband asked him what about when he loses his job? He said, oh well, I had fun!

That's my kinda guy. Eat drink and be merry, tomorrow we're all in trouble. Might as well enjoy!

[pritchet1]

From the Seattle Newspaper that is also folding -

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/ ... ess10.html

[P.E.]

That's amusing since the U.S. isn't "here," it went back to 1919 last year when gold tanked if you'll remember correctly just after the IMF announced that they were slowly dumping gold just like they did right before 1980 when gold tanked for 20 years!

I wasn't aware that gold "tanked" last year...

http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html

If you look at the year graph from the above link you will notice a drop that I think you would refer to as a "tank" most would refer to that as a "short deflationary period" as the price has again rose. I don't think you can tie the entire situation to a Great Depression time line but unfortunately for us it is a mini example of what we could be in for.

Regardless, I would look at the 5 year graph and notice the sudden change in volitility in the last year. That should make anyone nervous about the stability of the dollar.

[Jnewby]

You will see many if not most of the major metro's either go into bankruptcy or come close in the next 6-12 months, even the smaller community newspapers will suffer which is a shame as it is those that could provide a great service if they would dump the AP and stick to local news and writing. Over 10,000 jobs in the industry have been lost recently and you will see many more there as well.

[P.E.]

It's difficult to envision the mechanism by which enough money would get into the hands of the people to actually cause hyper-inflation.

Short of Helicopter Ben literally living up to his nickname, that is.

That's easy...Read up!

The main cause of hyperinflation is a massive and rapid increase in the amount of money, which is not supported by growth in the output of goods and services. This results in an imbalance between the supply and demand for the money (including currency and bank deposits), accompanied by a complete loss of confidence in the money, similar to a bank run. Enactment of legal tender laws and price controls to prevent discounting the value of paper money relative to gold, silver, hard currency, or commodities, fails to force acceptance of a paper money which lacks intrinsic value. If the entity responsible for printing a currency promotes excessive money printing, with other factors contributing a reinforcing effect, hyperinflation usually continues. Often the body responsible for printing the currency cannot physically print paper currency faster than the rate at which it is devaluing, thus neutralizing their attempts to stimulate the economy.

Quick!! Stop the press!! Call King Paulsen with the Treasury and let him know that some one on Wiki seems to understand what causes hyper-inflation...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_ ... r_Republic

Lots of debt-->printing presses on at full blast--->loss of buying power--->cost of living goes up i.e. inflation

[Proud 2b Peculiar]

I have to amend my earlier statement, I now know of 83 people that have lost their jobs in various companies.

I just found out about some evictions as well.

I wish I owned a business that was able to offer jobs....

[gruden]

It's difficult to envision the mechanism by which enough money would get into the hands of the people to actually cause hyper-inflation.

Short of Helicopter Ben literally living up to his nickname, that is.

That is an interesting question. With the printing of money without an increase in goods and services, economics dictate there will be inflation. That doesn't mean it has to be even. There are always the have's and have-not's, and the have's will have more access to credit and the cash that Bernanke & Co. pumped into the system. I could easily foresee a scenario where these have's drive up the prices for crucial necessities, while the have-not's (a growing group) can't afford it because of unemployment or underemployment. This could create a stagflation scenario.

More money and available credit drive up scarcer goods by those who have access to those, while an increasing population segment can't join because they don't have access. Easy to see social unrest in that scenario.