Thursday, 28 May 2009

UNEMPLOYMENT

There’s a part of me that wants to lay down and die; to give in, to accept that it’s too hard; that it will never get better. Thank God, there’s another stronger part that won’t let me let me do that.

It’s the middle of the night and I can’t sleep. I see myself sitting beside the embers of a dying fire; I’m trying to keep warm. I can hear voices outside; I wish they’d come in. I need to be able to tell someone, to share my burden, to offload my fears. I want them to see how difficult this is for me; I want their sympathy. I need their reassurance; I need someone to tell me it will be ok, that it will end soon. I want to be rescued from this nightmare.

I’m so lonely. I’m told there are thousands upon thousands of people like me; but who are they, where are they? I think they’d understand what I’m going through. Nobody else does. I don’t tell people, workers, what it’s like. They don’t want to know. Maybe they’re frightened it will happen to them; maybe that’s why they look bored or change the subject when I try to talk to them about it.

I’ve become a burden; I know I have. I don’t want to be one, but I can’t avoid it. I have to ask for favours; I’ve no other choice. I always need help. I’ve lost my independence; it went with the money. I’ve lost my freedom too. It’s funny, I have so much time; but I can’t afford to do anything with it.

I feel a failure. I’ve let my family down. I can’t give them what they want. I have to say no; sorry. I have to explain, I’d love to, but...I can’t afford it. I hate saying that; it’s like I’m giving in to it, admitting how bad it’s become. I know I have to accept it, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to be unemployed; I want to be at work.

I’m trying so hard. I’ve sent hundreds of emails; I hardly ever get a reply. I’m trying to be imaginative, to think of something, invent something, create an opportunity for myself; but it’s hard when no one responds to my ideas. I’m in a hole; its deep, the sides are sheer. There’s no way out. I need a ladder; I need a leg up. I need a break; but I can’t see where it’s going to come from. Nobody gives breaks anymore. They’re all too busy clinging to what they’ve got; they’ve no time for people like me.

I feel so rejected. Why am I not wanted? What have I done wrong? Can’t they see I’m trying; can’t they give me a chance? But they don’t understand; they don’t care. They pretend to; but it’s only platitudes. If they really cared they’d reply to my emails.

I work really hard to keep myself busy; I have to. If I didn’t, I’d go under. Boredom is my enemy. It wastes my time, dampens my hopes; it ruins my mind and destroys my soul. I have to overcome it. I’m frightened it will lead to depression. I mustn’t let that happen; if it does it will entomb me in a coffin of darkness and pessimism. There’d be no way out then.

But I’m scared; I mightn’t have the strength. I’m terrified I’ll give in. What will happen to me then? What will become of me if I can’t fight anymore; if I stop trying, if I surrender?
“Stay strong; there are people worse off than you,” I talk to myself a lot these days; it’s my only source of comfort. “You’ll get through this; you’ll come out the other end. You always do.”
I hope I’m right. I hope there is an end. I hope it’s not too far away. I pray I can last long enough to reach it.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Adjust or go Bust!

David Jones wonders if the reflationary policies being pursued by the Fed and the Central Banks will work...

I’ve lost count of how much money the Fed, the ECB, the Bank of England and the other central banks are pumping into the world wide economy to stimulate growth. The amount is so large I doubt there’d be enough room on one line of text for all the noughts involved. How much is a trillion anyway?

I’m no economist. I accept I have no qualification to question the actions of important central bankers; I can’t help wondering though, have any of the eminent treasury experts who are making these decisions stopped to think about the consequences of what they’re doing?

Presumably all this money that’s being pumped into Western economies is being borrowed from somewhere. Anyone stopped to question how we’re going to pay it all back? As I understand it manufacturing in the West has pretty much disappeared. Obvious question is; if we don’t make anything anymore, what are we going to sell? And if we’ve nothing to sell, how are we going to generate money to pay back those massive loans? Hopefully I’ve missed something obvious; but if I haven’t, what’s the fall back plan?

It’s prudent, before big decisions are put into practice, to ask why? Why are we doing this? What’s the point; what are we trying to achieve? It’s also appropriate to take at least a cursory look at the risk involved; or to put it another way around, is the objective attainable?

Therein lies the problem; for precedent would suggest the plan is flawed. Seemingly the Japanese tried it a few years ago, and it failed; but we’re all conveniently forgetting that. No-one seems concerned about this Japanese accident of history. Maybe they should be; for according to Karl Marx, history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as a farce.

But let’s not be unduly pessimistic; 40,000 Frenchmen can’t be wrong. All the experts seem to be agreed that re-flating the economies of the world is the only way out of the current crisis. Surely they must know what they’re doing, mustn’t they? Hang on a sec, aren’t they the same guys that told us house prices were ok, or at worst were set for a soft landing. Some soft landing eh?

Based on their track record shouldn’t we ask, do they know what they’re doing?

Their approach to the current crisis seems to be trying to turn the clock back; to get the economy back to where it was before the crash. The thinking seems to be if we can get back to where we started from, then everything will be ok again; but will it?

By releasing all these trillions into the world economy the central bankers hope to rebuild economic activity and get us all back to work again. Sounds great doesn’t it, but hang on a sec; shouldn’t we at least spend some time trying to find out what went wrong last time around? If not, are we not in danger of re-building another fiasco? Are we not just reconstructing another house of cards? Since it all failed so spectacularly last time, what makes the central bankers and economists think it won’t just fall apart again?

Ordinary people in the street knew the boom of the last ten years couldn’t possibly last. Every single one of us knew it was only a matter of time. And when the collapse came, were we surprised? Not at all; sure we all knew it couldn’t last. So why are our Governments trying so hard to get us back to where we were?

Wouldn’t it be better if we tried to adjust to the new reality, rather than pretend it will somehow go away? Shouldn’t we make the necessary adjustments, cut our cloth accordingly? Wouldn’t it be prudent now to accept, that it is change, not more of the same, that’s needed?

But change needs leadership. It means making harsh decisions. It means people’s living standards are going to have to drop. It means all of us accepting less than we’ve been used to. It means sacrifice; who’s going to have the guts to tell us that?

Bad news, and that’s what the truth often is, doesn’t make for good electioneering does it? Vote for me and see your standard of living decline; far better to promise the sun, the moon and the stars; then let some other fella try to sort out the resultant mess in the future.

But it’s change we need; and we need it now if we’re going to stave off future disaster. But politicians don’t like looking too far ahead; they prefer dealing with yesterday. They prefer blaming each other for what’s gone wrong, rather than trying to sort it out. Leading from behind is so much easier than leading from the front. I told you so is a very low risk strategy; sure nothing can wrong if you don’t do anything.

For change to work it has to be equitable, fair, honest, open and just. It necessitates compromise. It needs all of us abandoning our selfish attitudes.

Rather than cling to some ill thought out hope that we can get back what we’ve lost; wouldn’t we better off to acknowledge that things will never be the same again? Wouldn’t we be better off adjusting to the inevitable while we can; and before we make it infinitely worse by saddling ourselves with massive debts that future generations may never be able to pay back?

Our leaders are pursuing a high risk strategy. It’s also a very short-sighted one. Politicians have a bad habit of not looking very far ahead. Rather than admit we’re living above our means; they’re adding to the problem by borrowing what we can’t repay. Instead of accepting that the house of cards is falling down, they’re trying to fix it with a very, very expensive coat of paint. They’re shoring up the sham by pawning the future. It’s not good enough. We should demand better from them.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

Setting things in motion

For the purpose of promoting discussion on this blog, David Jones has written a series of articles representing a personal view on the the issues currently confronting Ireland's place within the global economy.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be publishing David's articles in the hope that they will have some resonance with people who have lost their jobs or are concerned about the current economic downturn.

Certainly David's insights are interesting and cannot be disregarded out of hand. We believe that they represent a contribution to the discussion that is currently taking place across the length and breadth of Irish society.

These articles are being published with the specific aim of encouraging discussion. You can contribute to this discussion either by posting your comments (see below) or submitting your views in the form of articles for publication.

If you would like to publish on The Job Seekers Blog please e-mail us. We cannot guarantee that material you submit will be published but we will try to ensure that your viewpoint is represented.

We welcome your feedback in any case.

UK Version of David's Book Now Available

A UK Version of Oh no; I've lost my job. What am I going to do? is now available. It has been launched in Northern Ireland and will shortly be available in Britain.

Tesco to Stock David's Book

Tesco have agreed to stock David'd book Oh no; I've lost my job. What
am I going to do?

Sunday, 24 May 2009

Free Service for Job Seekers

We've added some new features to the website of The Job Seekers Union to make it more effective in terms of addressing the needs of job seekers in the current economic climate.

A number of people have suggested the creation of a blog and as you can see this is now up and running. We will be using this blog to post information that might be helpful to you in your quest for gainful employment, along with other news to keep you up to date about what's happening with The Job Seekers Union. We also hope that it will provide a forum for discussion about issues pertaining to joblessness and the economy, sounding out the views of those who have been affected.

In addition a new section of Job Seekers Classifieds has been created. The idea is to provide a free service to members of The Job Seekers Union who would like to advertise their businesses, skills, general availability for work etc. If you would like to post in The Job Seekers Classifieds simply e-mail your details to The Job Seekers Union. Please keep your ad copy brief and concise, c.200 words. We reserve the right to edit for publication, any submissions which we receive. You can include links to your own websites or domains if you wish.

To Join the Job Seekers Union please go to the Membership Section of The Job Seekers Union website.

Please note: This service is being provided in the spirit of assisting Job Seekers find gainful employment. If you are an established business and would like to advertise on our website, or some other platform that The Job Seekers Union may provide, please Email Us to discuss advertising opportunities.

Friday, 22 May 2009

The Job Seekers Union featured on The Morning Show

Founder of The Job Seekers Union, David Jones, appeared recently on TV3's The Morning Show. You can view it here.

Oh No, I've Lost My Job ... What Am I Going to Do?

Founder of The Job Seekers Union, David Jones, has written a book about the experience of losing your job and what to do in the immediate aftermath. It's called ‘Oh no, I've lost my job. What am I going to do?’ and is available from Easons, Tescos and Dunnes Stores. You can also Buy it Here, from the main website of The Job Seekers Union.

Sunday, 17 May 2009

Introducing The Job Seekers Union

The Job Seekers Union is a new organisation arising out of the deteriorating economic situation in Ireland and internationally.

Founded by David Jones, author of ‘Oh no; I’ve lost my job. What am I going to do?’, The Job Seekers Union will focus on helping people to come together to help themselves in these difficult times. It plans to expand to provide support and guidance to people all over the world.

It is not necessary to be unemployed to register; anybody interested in improving the situation facing us today is welcome. To Join The Job Seekers Union please visit the Membership section in the main website - How to Join.

Learn more about The Job Seekers Union by visiting the website - www.thejobseekersunion.com.


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