Well, it's a sad and bleak fact that the economic condition of America the beautiful is, to say the least, sick. Oh, the spin doctors are grabbing hold of any "good" news to blazon across the headline spaces, "Economy is on the mend," or "Jobless rate slows," etc.
But people represent the statistics and people are suffering terribly because of lost income, lost homes and wrecked marriages (although that might not be directly related to the economy). I'm among the unemployed and let me tell you, it's a bitch! Seems to me that the more specialized your career skills, the less likely you are to find a job in a timely fashion.
Because I paid nearly $40,000 to earn that sheep skin which proclaims me a journalist, my options are so slim as to be non-existent, especially since I've decided to stay in Lubbock with the woman I love.
Recently, on "The Today Show," I heard a man who had double-digit years invested in a career with a city's mass transit system. His held a specialized, technical job position and a record that is impeccable. But he cannot find a job in his career field after nine months of diligent searching. Of course, at some point (once the unemployment insurance runs out) he'll have to take any job, a 7-11 clerkship or a Wal-Mart greeter gig just to put food on the table – if he's able to hang on to a table. It's sad! And it's bad! And it is what it is.
I'm trying to figure out how to expand my marketable skills, but the majority of available jobs in these parts that pay more than minimum wage are truck driving (requires a Class A driver's license), nursing and bank auditing. The federal jobs Web site listed about 20 bank auditor positions just here in Lubbock alone. Unfortunately, math was never my strong suit and a bachelor's degree in business administration would cost me another $20,000 and two years of struggling to get by on Pell Grants and Sallie Mae loans.
So far as retraining goes, I haven't come up with a viable plan yet.
I don't know why the media wasn't able to predict this meltdown two years ago, before it happened, but it's obvious to me that our news media is asleep at the wheel. Which leaves the electorate blindly fumbling around in the dark.
Good luck to all.