I have questions...

Sometimes, I ponder too much and scare myself.

I spent a few hours catching up on my blog reading.
I'd been kinda feeling a little sorry for my stupid self.
Not so much now.

Just in my small corner of our blogosphere, I am
reminded that way too many good people are dealing
with nasty medical treatments, disabling diseases,
post-surgical recovery, surgeries in their future,
family and friends away from home facing dangers
while serving in the military, financial crises, jobs
in danger, currently unemployed... on and on and on.

Do you ever think that we are one big mistake?
I mean all of us, homo sapiens, in general.

Could we be rejects from another galaxy?
The trash of the universe and beyond?
What would this planet be like without us?

We are basically greedy and destructive.
What have we done to make our home better?

No, I am not a tree-hugging hippy.

I simply do not understand the huge amount of misery
that continues to grow exponentially, with no
end in sight.

Isn't our government in a multi-gazillion dollar deficit?
How can they keep writing checks for grossly huge
amounts of money to give to the already grossly rich
and why do those checks not bounce?
Where does the money for those checks come from?

They can't be getting it from my account. Trust me.
Besides, if I wrote a check from my account when it
was in a deficit state, I would then be charged more
money as a punishment for daring to do such.

Am I stupid? (Don't answer that too harshly, please.)

I have a friend who is an owner/partner in a
manufacturing company. 40% of their business is
supplying to the U.S. automotive industry.
My friend's business was the low bid on a recent
contract for a much-touted new vehicle.
They did not get the contract because that particular
U.S. auto-maker is taking a chunk of bail-out money
to Korea for production. Out. Of. The. Country.

One of my brothers works for Dana Corp.
They are another huge supplier for the automotive
industry. My brother told me that his facility has
been laying off production workers every week for the
past six weeks. He is, not surprisingly, concerned
about his own job and his family's future.

Hundreds of teachers in Florida got laid off this year.

A friend in Kingston, N.Y. (retired from the Postal Service
after 33 years) said the Postal Service is looking at
laying off 16,000 employees. First time in its history.

And, answer me this... WHY do so many people
act like the economic sonovabitch crisis just
started happening YESTERGODDAMNDAY???

Anyone who has been reading my sorry excuse
of a blog for more than a year (wonders never cease),
know that the manufacturing company I work for
has been going through turmoil for a long time.
Last November 30th was the first lay-off in the current
economic downslide. Then, again, in early February
of this year. Then... we all worked 32 hour weeks this
summer.

We went back to forty hours a week in September.

Our biggest customer is a major manufacturer in the
...wait for it... COMPUTER CHIP INDUSTRY.

My department welds for the aerospace and oil industries.
Not enough to make up for the other dickwad department
or our company's owners who have wet dreams about
sending even more of our work to their lovely facility in
SINGAPORE. Where our biggest customer (the computer chip
dickwads) are opening their very own NEW FACILITY.

Out. Of. The. Country.

My employer has never ever ever announced ahead
of time their decision to lay off more employees.
Until this week.

First, they are extending the Thanksgiving holiday,
meaning a short paycheck unless we want to borrow
from vacation time accrued for next year. No thanks.
Same thing for Christmas. Happy New Year.

The lay-off will be sometime before December 22.
Because, ya know, we need to get LOTS of work done
for them before they can excise anyone from the
payroll. Office staff will be affected, also.
Just a little top-heavy there. Something like two or
three office people for everyone of us blue-collar schmoes.

All employees who might still be working here will
be back on the 32-hour work schedule for at least the
first quarter of the year and more than likely through
the first half. With a strong nod to another lay-off if
things don't pick up quickly next year.
Get right on that, ok?

I forgot to ask if this means the owners and investors
will forgo their usual quarterly and annual bonuses.
Yeah, right.

You are probably getting really tired of reading about
the instability of my work environment for the past
year and a half. I'm tired of writing it.

I have no idea if it will hit me this time or next or
not at all. They refused to give numbers.

I did tell one of the managers that, if it gets me, I will
take some sadistic pleasure in knowing that they will
be left with some of the laziest, sorriest, cheatingest
poorest excuse of employees in the hemisphere.
He almost chuckled.

Was that mean of me?