I was born, raised and still live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a population in 2011, of about 500,000. And yes, we do have electricity; running water; and indoor facilities! The Rio Grande river splits the city in two, and the towering Sandia Mountains (Sandia means watermellon in English) on the eastern city limits, rise to a height of 10,600 feet, and support the longest tramway system in North America. Albuquerque is also home to the Internation Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta, which attracts about 800 balloonists from all over the world. (and no, I don't work for the Chamber of Commerce or the Tourism Dept.) And yes, Albuquerque is a civilized city...I think...anyway the jury is still out on this one.
"When it come to the future, there are three kinds of people; those who let it happen; those who make it happen; and those who wonder what happened." John Richardson
Albuquerque is a good city to make my point, because it is not a big city like New York, Los Angeles or Dallas...but it is not a small town like Pie Town or Obummerville. Remember the three bears...not too hot...not too cold...just right.
Speaking of unemployment, (my, but how you changed the subject so suddenly), I have been laid off from SIX jobs in a little over a decade. In 1992, I suffered my first of six job losses, and I was working for a large engineering company with over 35,000 employees all over the world. I was with this company for over ten years. In 2011, the company doesn't exist anymore, as it was eaten by one of those big fish. When I got laid off...14 of us left the company on the same day...with one person having over 30 years with the company; another person had 26 years; another had 23 years; 18; 16; and I had ten years and so forth.
Most companies, at that time (1992) would lay people off and start from the bottom and work their way up to the top. But, that didn't happen here and that's what made these layoffs so unusual at the time. The company started from the top with section supervisors and worked its way down. As I suspected, this would set a trend for job layoffs in the future for many companies all across the country.
"I never think about the future. It comes soon enough." Albert Einstein
Companies that have closed or moved out of Albuquerque include; General Electric; Motorola; Digital; Phillips SemiConducters; Martin-Marietta; Trend Technologies; Siemens; Plastech; and Intel once had over 7,000 employees...and in 2011, is down to over 2,000 employees. My father worked for General Electric for over 30 years...but all that long-time company employee is gone forever.
At 65 years of age in 2011, I am glad I am not in the work place anymore. In this day and age, I would not like to be a young person or in school, either. I think the job situation all across the United States is going to get worse...instead of better. And, if the Congress doesn't stop the corporations from moving over seas, it will get much worse!
The current situation is tough on retirees, too, because if young people can't find jobs and put something into Social Security...there will be less or nothing for us older folks. I worry everyday about the solvency of Social Security; Medicare and Medicaid. What are old people going to do, if they lose all this?
When I started writing seriously at the end of 2006, I promised myself I would never be a crusader or a preacher for anything. So, I am not an alarmist or a preacher that the world is coming to an end...or the civilization of the United States will fall into the hand of the terrorists, etc. But, I think it will be harder for American's to make a living in the future. With so many states on the verge of bankruptcy, and the federal government drowning in red ink, there will be less government services in the future.
"You may have created my past; and screwed up my present; but you have no control over my future." David Klass
In 2011, I live in a Senior Center, in which the programs were created in the mid-1960's known as the Great Society...the 235 programs; the Section 8 and so forth. All that could be in trouble, if the government continues to drown in red ink! With the Great Society programs collapsing, there is reason for all us old folks to worry about Social Security; Medicare and Medicaid. They're already going to raise the Social Security age to 70. I think the terrorists are licking their chops...and the government gets deeper and deeper in debt!
If the federal government goes belly-up...then what are 75 and 80 year-olds supposed to do? Yawn? I think nursing homes will have plenty of business in the future!
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today...for it is already tomorrow in Australia." Charles Schultz
I don't consider myself an alarmist, or a preacher of the world's end...and I don't consider myself a liberal or a conservative, either. I consider myself as a moderate and a realist. The writing is on the wall for the future, and I have been there and I have done that, as I struggled with job losses for over a decade. I think the next few years will be tough on young people and old people alike. I'm just glad I'm not in the work place anymore...but retirement brings other worries with it, too! Maybe I'll get through with Social Security and a small pension...maybe not!
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Copyright; 2011; Jerry Aragon/The Humor Doctor
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