Friday, October 7, 2011

People With Jobs Doing the Minimum... Lots of Them!

With unemployment numbers rising all over the world and talk of the Greatest Depression, many in the Banker and Wealthy class and even in the mass media say that the unemployed are lazy. I think the notion that the unemployed are lazy might be a lie. From what I've seen, in my own experience, it's the employed salary workers who are lazy.


I don't know about the unemployed. I do know that, in my experience, there are far too many employed people who are lazy and are skating by on doing the absolute minimum. I know several of them.


A few of them are about to be out of jobs.


Intelligent people know what is going on with the economy and how things are going to get really rough very soon. There are many people who are oblivious to what's going on and think they can keep doing things the way they've been doing them all their lives.


Perhaps they can. Perhaps sitting at an office and doing the minimum required can save their job. I don't think it can. 


I think the current malaise in the economy is going to get much worse than it is now and people who think they can, say, work for 40 hours a week (and leave immediately when the clock strikes 6 pm) and keep their job are kidding themselves. Jobs are getting scarce. The Governor of the Bank of England says that we are soon to be into the worst economic crisis in history. That's not all, the BBC says we are two or three weeks away from full blown global financial meltdown...


There are plenty of people who are willing, nay desperate, to do far and above the call of duty, to do more than is required to get quickly disappearing jobs...


This goes for good jobs with good pay and also the so called "slave wages" jobs like flipping hamburgers at Macs. Even at Macs, working the 40 hour shift, who do you think will keep their job? The worker who does the minimum required or the worker who, when business is slow, will mop the floors and clean the windows without first being told to do it?


In the eighties vacations and benefits were perks of jobs. In the year 2012 and beyond, merely having a job will be a perk. I think many people today, who have a poor understanding of the economy, think that the conditions and events of the last twenty years (especially the last 3 years) are normal. What they don't understand is that we have been living on borrowed time created by a government policy of artificially low interest rates and massive money printing. 


These government policies have created an artificial economy but these quick fix solutions to our problems can't work forever and they are unraveling quickly in front of our eyes - regardless if people recognize it for what it is or not. Japan will not escape the problems - and, in fact, is a huge part of the problem. And the piper must be paid someday and that day is soon coming upon us.


A few days ago I met a woman whose father was 56 years old and she told me that he hadn't a job for over two years! At 56, it should be his highest earning potential in his entire life, but here he is, out of work.


People under 30 ~ 35 years old today are fooling themselves if they think that they will be able to get along over the next 10 ~ 20 years doing the minimum amount of effort for the minimum amount of working hours a week: 40.


Like I said, there are many people who will gladly take those forty hour a week jobs and invest 72+ hours a week of their time and sweat to make sure they get and keep those jobs. It's not a question of desire or want, it is a question of survival. 


Survival of the fittest.


For a short view of just how bad things have gotten in the USA over these last 3 years watch this video. (And don't think I am blaming it all on Obama, the Republicans haven't done any better).  



And if you think that the coming collapse of the US economy isn't going to affect you in Japan, or anywhere else in the world, you are out of your mind... 


I meet young people today who tell me that they want to work "only" a full 40 hour week - no more than that. I think they are living in a fantasy world. I even had a guy (who works part time) tell me the other day that he "even worked until 1 am the other night."


I am not impressed in the least.


When I was the GM of a broadcasting station in Tokyo, I worked from 5 am until 9:30 pm every night at least 6 days a week.. Often 7. So I am not impressed a bit by someone working until late.


Big surprise for many: People do that all the time. It used to be considered a strong work ethic. It used to be considered normal if someone wanted to "get ahead". 


I am not rich but I have always been a person who was hired and then soon became a management staff. Even when I got my first job in 1975. I was only 17 but soon was given the right to clear personal checks and credit transactions. A right many employees did not have and those employees were often in their thirties.


When I graduated from college, my former boss called me out of the blue and tried to hire me back. He said, "We will hire you part-time but pay you more than full time wages." Sounds pretty good, eh? 


I refused and said, "No!" 


I told him that I didn't go to college to graduate and earn full-time wages. I told him, "I want to work twice full-time and earn five to ten times full-time pay - at least!"


Now, I meet young people who tell me that they want to work "only 40 hours a week" if that much? Dreamers. Good luck with that.


How in the world will you get any jobs when there's a flood of out of work professionals with tons of experience who will work well over and above the call of duty for their wages?


The days of doing the minimum at work are over...


For most people the days of doing the minimum ended when they go out of high school... For too many, they still think that they can continue to do the same.


Well, I've got news for you folks... Life is full of rude awakenings. You can get with the program now, and get off your asses or you can wait until you are forced off your ass.


Like Keith Richards said, "I'm going to walk before they make me run."


Too many people are sitting there waiting... They won't have to wait long.

8 comments:

egwhite said...

right on

Anonymous said...

I agree, but then there's this manipulated lift in the road to cause People to disregard everything we've ever said or wrote, however; I'm Not sure it applies worldwide:

"...At key turning points few recognize the turn as it is occurring. The economy is turning now. Fed manipulation will turn the numbers positive, create another false boom, but this time the price inflation is going to be much more intense. Bernanke got away with strong money printing in late 2008 to early 2009, but that was a period when the demand to hold cash balances was increasing, thus muting the price rise from that money dump.

This time there appears to be no increasing demand to hold cash balances, if anything the demand to hold cash balances is declining. This will result in an amplification of the money printing, which will mean even higher prices."...

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/10/more-keynesian-konfusion-retail-sales.html

*Another* false boom? I can hardly comprehend it. From what I've read, this just means the drop off at the end will be from higher up.

Does this mean Only those who get the new money will feel the benefit and Most everyone else will get mostly high prices and grief?
I'm just not sure.

SillyCon Valley, CA. is in an uptic, and: Double your salary in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/28/pf/north_dakota_jobs/index.htm?iid=EAL&source=yahoo_hosted

According to that article and the comments, the price of a one bedroom apartment in some places in N.D. is said to be equal to a one bedroom apartment in Hawaii.
Do you sense the same disconnect I do?

Marc Faber and Jim Rogers say to be long the Dollar for awhile, dang, I was hoping to buy more gold and silver but now I'm thinking I should wait bit.

IDK, just thinking out loud.

The local gun show is this weekend, maybe I'll invest there?
But I'm thinking I should be investing in travel plans after reading this:

The Day America Died

"...All you can do, if you are young enough, is to leave the country. The only future for Americans is a nightmare."...

http://lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts328.html

I wonder, what age is, "young enough"?

- clark

Anonymous said...

If/when the SHTF, it isn't going to matter whether you have a job or not (those who maintain their jobs lazy or not - good luck to them, they will be better off than most).
All savings/pension funds that you think will save you etc are going to get inflated away (and that's before tax increases) whilst at the same time the prices of basics will go up.

Hope it doesn't happen but I fear it is on the way.

Anonymous said...

WHoa, I was going to re-phrase something I wrote and the whole dang comment is gone, poof!

Did I write something unacceptable or something?

Anonymous said...

A time ignored long discovered eventuality of Bertrand Russell.

We no longer need so much work. (workshy employees demonstrate the lack of work to do).

See:

http://ankurktr.blogspot.com/2009/06/bertrand-russell-in-praise-of-idleness.html

work is an ancient pastime.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous above is crazy. "Work is an ancient past time" THAT'S RIGHT! And to think it is going to disappear is fantasy.

Those who work hard (and smart) will get ahead.... The ones who think that work is slavery should move to some deserted island and live with the animals... If there is such a place.

Anonymous said...

You are an ass, Mike. I can't figure out what is the worst thing about you-- your crypto-fascist philosophy or your banal prose. Meh!

mike in tokyo rogers said...

"Meh!" (defintion: MEH is "Indifference, equivalent to shoulder shrug")... If it is indifference, then I guess this banal writing is good enough to get you to bother to write in. Usually indifference wouldn't constitute any response. Now, get off your ass and get a job you lazy loser!

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