Do you ever feel like you are the only one struggling with this economy?

[Blue_Roses]

My spouse's job just started laying off because the business is getting slow, however, since he has seniority, they are not going to lay him off, but reduce his hours :wtf:
This is like not getting a paycheck at all. At least with unemployment he would get a check. It's so difficult to pay the rent lately and we have kids. I sub teach and do freelance editing to supplement, but damn, I'm getting scared to get out of bed in the mornings lately. I'm usually a very strong person, but this is breaking me down. Will this ever end?

Anybody else feeling hopeless these days:cry:

[Stuart G]

1. Everyone is . nt

[Xenotime]

2. It's a suffering that everyone is feeling and nobody is doing anything about..

Including Obama. Very grim.

[Selatius]

3. Yes. Allow me to demonstrate. "In other news, another girl has gone missing..."

They would rather devote a lot of ink to nonsense than to cover the news everybody wants to see covered. Celebrity gossip and human interest stories--though they have their place--don't have a place in terms of nationally significant news stories, such as the war in Iraq or the economy or corporate crime.

[grasswire]

4. do everything you can to build community

There is strength in solidarity. Don't isolate yourselves. Come together in real life with people in your neighborhood. You need each other. Get busy planting some vegetables in pots. Offload unneeded items. Store some food and water. Do some reading on topics that will help you. Buy some tools if you don't have any.

The times, they are a-changing. But you will feel some measure of control of your destiny if you work at it.

[Blue_Roses]

5. thanks!

I am currently working on my teacher certification in Special Ed. I take my exam next week. I took it two months ago and missed it by 2 points! I was sick, sick, sick, but I finally dusted myself off and got back on track. What I think is the real feeling of hopelessness is my spouse's job. He's loyal to a fault and will stay until the doors lock, leaving him holding his briefcase. I've pleaded with him to try something new and look towards a future doing something he will feel more secure with, but he says he won't go back to school:argh:

So it's up to me to bring the security I need for me and my kids. That's why I'm working on my certification.

[Warpy]

8. I think your spouse is right to stay

because this is temporary. Just as it's tempting to think the good times are going to last and happy days are here again forever, it's human nature to think the bad times will persist forever, too. He could come out of this smelling like a rose just as easily as he could be played for a part time chump and dumped.

Nothing lasts.

[Coyote_Bandit]

6. Welcome to my world

I am long-term unemployed and have been struggling for a loooooong time. I guess now it is fashionable.

I have pretty much determined that I am unemployable. Late 40s, single, female, vision and hearing impairments, a little pudgy, and overeducated with a work history that reflects both responsible positions and being independent.

I guess being unemployeable is OK. I've been forced to come to terms with it. I'm tired of being used and taken advantage of - not to mention decieved and betrayed.

I need an income not a job. And there are other ways to secure an income. Traditional employment is just the easiest way to achieve that.

If I could do anything I wanted at this point in time I would leave this country and start a business elsewhere. There are better opportunities elsewhere - and better more affordable access to healthcare.

Good luck to you. Be flexible and consider all the opportunities that present themselves to earn a few bucks. They add up.

[Democracyinkind]

7. I feel like the only one not struggling

.. and it makes me feel like some kinda fortunate son....

Anyway I wish you all the best and I hope things will work out for you and your family!

[Kat45]

9. Sometimes I feel that way because most of my friends are still working and

my job got eliminated at the end of the year. Though I know that nobody's job is safe, some of the people I know are in positions that are less likely to be eliminated for various reasons.

I got a part time temporary job doing the census but for various reasons, I'm not sure if I will be able to continue doing it. It's supposed to be 20 hours a week, but with a lot of bs surrounding the job, it's turning into 24/7 aggravation with a part time income.

[EFerrari]

10. Not any more. I felt it about a year early due to a divorce.

But, it's the same black year everywhere. :(

[azmouse]

11. We feel that at least for right now we can breathe.

My husband's job was at risk but another company came in and purchased the group he works for so it looks like he'll have a job for this year at least and the new company will pay everyone the same salary.

I hope things get better quickly for your family.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. No. I have never felt alone in this mess.

I know full well me and my family are not the only family suffering.

[redqueen]

13. No, not by a long shot. The economy has been tanking for a while.

I've seen the effects on others.