Thanks Democrats, You are About to Cost Me My Job.

[Ioo]

Hello DU, long time member, so I am not here to just throw fireballs.

In the 11th hour of the Health Care debate (SO HAPPY IT PASSES BTW) the Democrats in the house tacked on the student loan reform that they also promised. It may shock many of you, but there are real Americans working in that field (one created by the government mind you), and we have all been told that when this thing passes the Senate to expect 1 in 3 of us to be laid off. So just think about that for a second. The Democrats are going to get killed in NOV if the job situation does not change on the ground soon, because like Bill Clinton said, "It's the economy, stupid" and the Democrats are knowingly about to pink slip 30,000 people...

The sad thing is the plan, to move all federal student loan origination to the Department of Ed was tried a long time ago, and you know what... MASSIVE FAILURE, that is why they outsourced the origination in the first place.

64 Billion saved? Really? Sure I guess... plus 30,000 new unemployed people.

Don't get me wrong, I am a Dem from stem to stern, but this is wrong move right now.

Thanks Guys!

[NeedleCast]

1. Who told you this, and why does the studen loan reform act cost jobs?

Can you provide us with more information?

[tomber]

6. It's in the bill

People employed by private lenders of student loans will have to be let go when there is no more work for them to do.

[NeedleCast]

10. Wouldn't the Dept of Education pick up some or even lots of those jobs?

I really don't know much about it but if it's a transfer of jobs from the private sector to Department of Education, hopefully less jobs would be lost than anticipated.

[notadmblnd]

27. but wont there be work to do on the Federal level?

[Ioo]

16. Who do you think does all the Fed student loans now? Wood Nymphs?

No, people do. People that work in NoVA, Florida, Mass, and so on.

Is the system broke... sure it is, is this the way to fix it... NOPE.

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100323/NEWS01/3230309
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000233-503544.html
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100320/LOCAL/3200350/Health-bill-worries-Indiana-Sallie-Mae-employees

[sendero]

98. Banks are abusing this program.....

... like the abuse everything they touch. This WAS the right thing to do, I'm sorry you lost your job but you are wrong on the facts.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. It'll take people to run the program. Look into it.

[msongs]

3. 30K lost jobs versus benefits for millions of college students on loans. tough choice nt

[Dappleganger]

7. Exactly.

And many of those students are adults who are going back to school to be re-trained after they lost THEIR jobs. This bill will help MILLIONS.

[blondeatlast]

19. (Raises hand.) Mid-forties, freshly divorced--and going back to school

to learn what I should have been dioing my whole life.

Thank you, Democratic majority and President Obama. :patriot:

[Dappleganger]

33. Best of luck to you! nt

[Ioo]

34. It will not - because there was never a shortage of LOAN money

[northernlights]

41. pell grants won't help those getting a useful degree

after having gotten a useless degree 30+ years ago.

Pell grants are only available to those without a degree.

Those of us who are getting a better degree this time around are stuck with student loans. And in my field, those are limited because the Federal Gov REQUIRES an AS degree, but then denies loans to those with "too many credits."

As a result, 80% of the students in my clinical chemistry lab (including moi) were unexpectedly cut off at the knees halfway through the program.

Can't afford to pay off the current student loans without the degree.
Can't afford to finish the degree without more student loans.
Student loans cut off because of "too many credits" for AS degree.
Can't switch to BS degree to qualify for more student loans until we finish AS degree.

In other words, we. are. fucked.

Oh, and this is a field with a worldwide shortage. I'm so glad everybody now will have insurance coverage. Don't know who's going to do all your lab work, though. maybe they figure in 4 years it will all be automated, and those of us who were suckered into starting the effing program can go eat shit and die.

[tomber]

9. doesn't change

how loans are issued, it just changes who originates the loan. Students who got loans before can still get the same loans just now they will have to go through the government instead of their bank.

[lumberjack_jeff]

21. And we all know that the government works without hiring people. n/t

[Donnachaidh]

22. I'll bet the interest rates will be cheaper.

The government doesn't provide multi-million dollar bonuses to it's CEOs.

[Ioo]

31. YOUR NOT GETTING IT - We are the ones originating the FED LOAN. SAME RATE.

We are doing the work because the last time the government did it they failed. This is not private loans this is FELP loans... so we do not set the rate.

[tibbiit]

45. Im sorry but that is just not true

the last time the government did it they failed.
tib

[laughingliberal]

84. I think the 'failure' of the government to administer student loan programs

is a bit overblown. As I recall, it goes back to Ronnie's propaganda to justify gutting the funding for higher education. I made it to graduation one year ahead of his screw the working class students cuts to education.

[alcibiades_mystery]

97. Completely correct

The repetition of this notion that the government "failed" at originating the loans is so telling. This was privatization pure and simple, and mostly without justification. The origination industry, of course, holds it as gospel and dogma that they can do it better. Why wouldn't they?

[laughingliberal]

64. Good!

The government does not have to make a profit. More money getting to the students instead of bank execs and shareholders.I expect it will bring interest rates down. But the most important thing is a lot of the money saved will be funneled into providing more Pell grants so our college students haven't mortgaged their lives before they begin.

[blondeatlast]

12. +1. nt

[Ioo]

26. WRONG - There is not a shortage of money, it is the schools that are the issue

WE do not set the price for school fees, the schools do. Higher Education is a FOR PROFIT venture, and it is not us that is jacking up the cost of schools.

[laughingliberal]

71. "it is not just us jacking up the cost of schools"

No, but it is one factor. And one we can do something about right now. My industry (hospitals) constantly drives nurses wages and benefits down and refuses to hire adequate staff, working the staff they have into the ground. It's not because they aren't making money hand over fist. You'll have to excuse me but in 1991 when my for profit hospital corp employer cut our benefits cause 'Clinton might reform health care' and the CEO still got a compensation package of $129,000,000 for the year, do I think they really cut our benefits because reimbursement were insufficient? Hell, no! BTW, I noticed they did not restore our benefits when HCR failed in 1993, either. It's because the industry is greedy as hell. We can't fix that (nurses) and you can't fix yours but it is the reality of working for industries that are never satisfied with meeting expenses and making a damned generous profit. If Congress had done the right thing and provided a single payer system it would have cost jobs in a lot of the for profit insurance companies but it still would have been the right thing to do.

[buell_bob_2010]

102. Choices...

LOL!!! This little piece of the thread is a DEATH PANEL!!! LOL!!! THEY ARE IN THE BILL... "It'll benefit millions, just sacrifice a few!!!" HEW... anyway, sorry for your luck bro. I hope things work out for you in the end.

[Dappleganger]

4. So you're going to be laid off like the rest of us already ARE...

and have been for YEARS??

Welcome to Real Life, Friend. See, nobody thinks the economy is bad until they lose THEIRS.

It's not just about you.

[Christa]

13. + 1. nt

[mod mom]

15. +1.

[lame54]

5. imagine how many people would be out of work if they removed the insurance industry...

sometimes progress comes with a price

[hedgehog]

17. That's a good reason to let single payer slip in organically over the next

5-10 years rather than making a single massive change today.

[lame54]

29. let's hope that is their intention...

in the meantime - we have to keep on them

[Bluerthanblue]

24. WORD up...!

Losing a job sucks- and I sympathize with the OP, but the reality is, if we are going to make positive changes for the majority of Americans- it is going to make the lives of some people very difficult for awhile.

[GoCubsGo]

37. No...

Most of them would probably get government jobs administering single-payer. Despite what the rethugs tell you, our government is understaffed in most agencies. The Defense Dept. being one of the few exceptions. There are nowhere near enough people to do what needs to be done in agencies like the Park Service, EPA, Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Veterans Administration...

[Warren Stupidity]

66. I'm sorry this was ever privatized.

It never should have been, and the results were disastrous. You shouldn't have to suffer, but many people will be helped by this legislation. In a decent society your transition to another job would be as painless as possible, with no risk to your health care, your house, or your basic needs. In our society where it is "I got mine you fuck off " that is not the case.

[lonestarnot]

103. Well are you sure your employment won't be converted to a federal job?

[instantkarma]

8. You're welcome!

good luck to you.

[Ioo]

18. Very supportive... this disabled vet thanks you for your support

[Lyric]

42. And yet you're working a cushy job

selling predatory loans, to vulnerable students who have no other choices, at loan-shark interest rates. Loans that will ruin lives because they can't be discharged, even in bankruptcy, and will eventually eat up your Social Security payments if they aren't paid back by then. But that's okay, because you gotta look out for Number One, right? Well bully for you--so do the rest of us. Welcome to the miserable, unfair thing the rest of us know as "life". Sure, it sucks--but you're a disabled veteran. That's one hell of an entry on a resume, and assuming that you're competent at what you do, you'll find another job. Try the government--I hear they'll be hiring.

By the way--being a "disabled vet" doesn't mean that you get a "Live Without Disagreement or Criticism" card for the rest of your life. I haven't met many genuine veterans who try to use their status to send others on a guilt trip for daring to criticize or disagree with them. I guess we learn something new every day.

That being said--thanks for your service. If you choose not to seek another job, well, enjoy your well-earned retirement.

/sophomore college student who, like you, is looking out for Number One

[sailor65]

50. Did I read that right? You're a college sophomore?

What do you yet know about work, cushy or otherwise?

"Welcome to the miserable, unfair thing the rest of us know as "life".".......The OP is actually there already, you aren't....Hell, you don't even have your "Big Teeth" yet.

You're the one playing the victim here, "Poor vulnerable student with no other choice?" Been there, done that, worked my ass off and paid mine off. When you do the same, then come back and call yourself "The rest of us..."

Then, you can come back and slam the OP, geez......

[mentalsolstice]

53. And you're a fool!

When my mom was a college sophomore, she was 36 years old. Lyric, herself, isn't a "traditional" student...and has had to work plenty of non-cushy jobs along the way. So back off...you don't know what you're talking about.

[sailor65]

56. By your own logic then,

you should be calling your friend a fool as well, based on her attack on the OP. Well done, I couldn't have framed it better myself.

[Ikonoklast]

94. You're the only fool posting in this thread.

How does that shoe taste after you put your foot in your mouth?

[Bunny]

60. Are you assuming that Lyric is maybe 20 years old?

You couldn't be more wrong. You are WAY off on this one.

[Raineyb]

87. I'm in my third semester at a CC and I intend to get my Bachelor's and I

can assure you I have my "big teeth" Not every college sophomore is 19 years old. You're out of line.

[Lyric]

89. I'm 30 years old, from a dirt-poor rural family, and I'm raising a kid.

I most certainly HAVE "been there, done that". I know EXACTLY what it means to work your ass off year after year after year and end up nowhere. I watched my Mom do it, I watched my Dad do it, and then *I* did it for about ten years before I made it back into school. Now I'm here trying to break that cycle, so MY son doesn't have to live that way.

I think I have the standing to voice an opinion here.

[Matariki]

86. +1

indeed.

[mikelgb]

11. 3 comments:

1. Sorry about your job security, the only upside it that you have a good bit of notice to start looking NOW.

2. It pisses me off that one of the first argument for leaving single payer off the table was that it would cost all those nice insurance company employees their jobs but the seem to have no problem here.

3. That said, I don't have a problem with companies like that, even with all their employees, to go the way of the dodo. Many of those employees were directly responsible for denying care and killng people.

[uppityperson]

95. Thank you for writing this, agree with your 3 points. eom

[Donnachaidh]

14. 30K jobs versus the predatory lending tactics of the for profit banks?

As a parent, I'm thrilled this is going through. But these banks and their legalized loansharking need to be reined in.

Hey, I didn't hear anyone screaming bloody murder when the construction industry tanked and MY family was tossed to the side. All we got was *suck it up and deal* from most people.

Times are changing. :shrug:

[Dappleganger]

23. +1

[Owl]

25. +2!

[LynneSin]

58. thank you

:D

[laughingliberal]

82. + 3

[Tarheel_Dem]

104. Very well said. (nt)

:thumbsup:

[Lerkfish]

20. I feel for you, been laid off over a year and over 50

so I can't find any kind of work.


however, I dont' use my own situation to decide what is good policy.

... or maybe I have, to be fair -- I have spoken out against outsourcing.

[laughingliberal]

85. Me too. 55 and haven't worked in 2 years. Husband's business tanked with the downfall of the housing

market. Let's spend a little time discussing which industry was responsible for that. A business he ran at a profit since 1982 tanked to nothing in 1 year.

[thotzRthingz]

28. I hope you are not one of the "severed" ... and if that happens, here's hoping that door closing

simply leads you to find a better place.

My son found himself in this exact situation, a couple of years ago, as the company (also of the student loan processing type) he worked for "down-sized" and his entire IT department got outsourced (to INDIA, no less)!

But that led him to his present job, with SONY... where he is much better-off (pay & benefits wise)!

Here's sincerely wishing you good luck, regardless of the challenges you will find yourself encountering!

[superduperfarleft]

30. I work in the insurance industry.

Single-payer would not only put greedy CEOs out of a job, but simple paper-pushers like me, or our receptionist and customer service people that make $8 an hour. If we're expected to have sympathy for you (and I do, for your situation, but that doesn't change my opinion on this portion of the bill), I can expect the same amount of sympathy when single-payer costs me my job, right?

Sometimes much-needed progress leaves people behind. That's just the way life is.

[ecstatic]

88. +1

[bigtree]

32. first, sorry about the risk to your job. Losing a job is at the top of the life sucks list

Here's what I understand and have read (not to contradict your own situation, but to offer some perspective for discussion:


from Campus Progress.org: http://www.campusprogress.org/cribsheets/4873/best-government-takeover-ever

Lenders must still service student loans that are already on the books, and there will be more federal loans made to students than ever in future years—each of which must be serviced by employees working at private companies contracted by the federal government.

There are also many parts of the bill that will create jobs. SAFRA includes large investments in campus modernization, school construction, community colleges, early education programs, and grants to state governments to improve college access and completion.

And because loan companies often do more than just federal student loans—like offer consultation services to schools and give private (“alternative”) student loans— well after reform is passed, many will continue to operate and employ people for these activities.


here's their account of the change in policy:

If SAFRA is passed, this $87 billion would be invested in education. Specifically, the version of SAFRA passed by the House of Representatives would:

* Invest $40 billion in increasing the maximum Pell grant—given to the poorest of students—and make sure that the grants will increase each year by at least inflation plus one percent.

* Fund state and federal programs to increase college access and improve completion rates.

* Invest in community colleges and minority serving institutions.

* Make interest rates variable for Subsidized Stafford loans to allow students to benefit from low interest rates, while maintaining the interest rate cap, to protect them from high interest rates.

* Simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

* Reform and expand the Perkins Loan Program to give more students at more schools options than just private loans, which have high and variable interest rates and few borrower protections. Unfortunately, this would cause interest to accrue on Perkins loans while students were still in school.

* Create a completive grant program for early learning initiatives.

* Invest in campus modernization, which could include projects like retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient or updating technology in classrooms.

[crazylikafox]

35. I read someplace on DU last night that the loan servicing will be outsourced

back to the private agencies. The Banks' profit skimming will be eliminated, but not all the jobs. I truly feel your concern, as I'm unemployed myself, but I suspect that part of what you're hearing from your employer is scare tactics.

[Ioo]

36. Servicing and Originating are two totally dif jobs... think call center vs accountants.

So yes there will be some new low wage jobs to be had, while all the higher wage, higher taxed people get laid off.

[ProSense]

38. "The Democrats are going to get killed in NOV " for

ending subsidies to banks and funding student loans?

Can't please everybody, I guess.

[Ineeda]

39. Apparently

your former job will be absorbed by the public sector (Dept. of Ed. or HHS, maybe?). Get your resume ready, because they'll be looking. At least your job won't be outsourced to India, gone forever, like millions of others have been. The HCR will also be creating over 16K IRS jobs and save/create lots of private sector jobs.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tjwash]

43. Maybe you can find something in an equal field...like a payday loan clerk.

Let me ask you something...did you happily cash your bonus checks after you figured out the most efficient ways to shaft young folks with predatory high interest loans, and pretty much ensured that they would be kept in wage slave hell for decades? And what the fuck is "failure" in your book? The inability to turn a profit? That's the crap-thinking that has completely hosed this country and placed us all in the current fiscal mess that we are in.

And I love the way that you said you are not here to throw fireballs, and then immediately proceed to tell us you work in one of the most hated and predatory industries that exist currently, and beg for sympathy from some of the folks that you're group is probably screwing the hardest right now.

[sailor65]

47. I don't think you understand the OP

it's not the OP who is "Preying" on you. He's working as the originator, that's all. Your attack is unwarranted. When loan origination is moved, the predator will still be preying on you. You owe the OP an apology.

[msanthrope]

61. I think he understands the OP just fine--Originators are part of the

problem--who do you think okays loans to sham schools and trade outfits?

They collect a fee for origination, it's not not cheap, either. They are simply a service, a service now declined.

[Iggo]

44. Progress is about to cost you your job.

It sucks.

Sucks balls.

[Winterblues]

46. Hmmm when Clinton did the same thing jobs were created

In fact we had the greatest economic expansion in our history. Granted it wasn't all because of student loans but they were a part of the overall package..

[MindandSoul]

48. I can feel your pain, and I'm sorry!

But. . .your job will need to be done by someone anyway. . .and it could be you! But you may need to go work for the government agency that will deal with those loans.
Yes, it may be an increase in "government workers," but that kind of job doesn't just disappear. . .the huge profit made by banks and lending institution will shrink though!

Keep your head up. . .I'm sure you'll be okay. But I know it is scary!

[The2ndWheel]

49. You're a splinter in the spoke of the wheel

We all are. It's not about you, or the other 30K jobs, or the millions of students, or even the wheel itself, as that can be easily replaced as well. Upgraded, changed, redesigned. Made obsolete. Interchangeable. Whichever way is best at any given moment. You, as a very small percentage of the whole, will quietly conform, or quietly fade away. Which way you go is ultimately your inalienable choice, but nobody really gives a damn what you do either way.

[hunter]

51. Student loans are how I learned to hate big U.S. banks.

If you work for a big U.S. bank, bummer.

If they don't screw you over on this round of cuts, and you are lucky enough to keep your job, don't worry, they'll screw you over in another round, maybe even lose your pension and benefits too, just before the last drop of life is sucked out of you and you are replaced by some fresh new hire who doesn't know what they're in for.

I'm going to vote on the side of students here too. And I think it's likely in the long run you will benefit more by this bill than you would working for a big U.S. bank.

Gads, what a scummy thing to tell employees... Fuck'em. Do you really want to work for people like that?

Good luck!

[MicaelS]

52. Little sympathy here, student loans should have NEVER

Been the province of for-profit institutions. It should have always been a government run, and government funded program. You don't pay it back, they can still garnish your wages or grab your income tax return. And MAYBE if we had public funding of the medical / nursing school education of primary care doctors and nurses in exchange for 5 years service in a government medical corps, we wouldn't have a shortage of primary care people because they all have to specialize in high profit specialties.

To put it another way, sometimes business is THE problem, and government is THE solution.

[2Design]

54. they will have more money to help pay for you to go to college n/t

[JVS]

55. They have an emoticon just for this situation

:nopity:

Good luck finding something new, but retaining a bad system is not justified by the fact that you happen to work within it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

57. His health care reform bill is going to do horrible things for the mortuary industry.

:nopity:

[hunter]

67. Nah. Those uninsured people get cremated on the cheap by the county.

When the box of ashes gets full, they dump it, respectfully, in the ocean.

I don't think cremating indigents is a particularly profitable business for the mortuaries.

Maybe with this health plan more people will be able to afford expensive funerals when their time is up.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

70. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because of all the death panels and stuff.

2009 called, they want their rhetoric back.

[Egnever]

68. Snarf!

[Egnever]

69. Snarf!

[SOS]

59. The Democrats will gain votes in November

Private student loans are the bane of many lives in this country.
The government lends at 0.75% and the private lender charges 14%. (2 points below criminal loan sharking in this state.)
Non-dischargeable in bankruptcy court.
Outrageous penalties for one late payment.

Some jobs will be lost in the private sector, but millions will be grateful for better terms.

[FrenchieCat]

62. My husband sells coffins.....

So I guess I should write an op being mad about what can help millions,
just because of what it could for that business, and so I should shit on it.

How mighty selfish of you!

[Doctor_J]

75. word

:thumbsup:

I wonder if, when we get single payer, all of the insurance middle men will be here complaining.

[madokie]

63. methinks someone is full of it

thats what I think :hi:

[harun]

83. +1

They are bluffing. They just try to scare people to call their congress critters.

[MineralMan]

65. Can you not imagine that you might work in some other,

perhaps similar field? Or were you planning to make student loan origination your life's work?

The jobs are just moving. The same number of students will still be seeking financing. Polish up your resume.

[Javaman]

72. At least you have a public option through the VA. nt

[tallahasseedem]

73. Wrong move right now?

So you're saying that these predatory lenders should be given more time to screw people because you'll be at risk of losing your job? Dem from stem to stern my ass.

[Doctor_J]

74. I remember this sort of crap before the election

"If you vote for Obama, we're going to have to close."

Beck when I had my student loan, I got it from the govt and it was 3% when money markets were paying 18%. My only hope is that all of the Health "Insurance" middle men join the unemployment ranks next.

[Juche]

76. Sorry about that

I'm not ragging on your valid concerns about your employment in the worst economy since the great depression. I'm laid off too.

However, this will add 8-10 billion a year to student aid and savings on pork. And paying $30,000 a year to 30,000 employees comes to about $900 million a year, a fraction of the savings.

[Prism]

77. A necessary evil, I'm afraid

Reform necessitates trimming waste and bureaucracy to some extent. This will inevitably mean some people who work for the government or carry out government functions will ultimately lose their jobs. It is not a happy occasion to cut anyone's job, but streamlining government operations will always require it.

Imagine if they were trying to balance the budget. There'd be even more government jobs lost in that.

[zbdent]

78. at least you'll have health care ...

[renate]

79. I'm honestly sorry that you're personally affected so negatively

It really does suck. It's not your fault that the system you worked in, and in which you earned your paycheck, needed to be changed. I hope the layoffs end up actually being reassignments to similar jobs with the new system.

Good luck. :hug:

[jgraz]

80. I'm sure you've been out in the streets protesting the millions of jobs lost to NAFTA.

Right?

[DefenseLawyer]

81. That's kinda like saying we should build obsolete submarines because people work at the shipyard.

The student loan "business" is inefficient, costly and counter productive. I hope you find another job, but this is still the right thing to do.

[jgraz]

90. Generally, I prefer jobs programs that don't kill or bankrupt our citizens

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

91. Sorry....

But if given the choice between spending millions on what amounts to an unnecessary service (even though it creates jobs) and providing more funding for education. I have to go with more funding for education.

The fact is that while you may lose this particular job, the funding is still hitting the economy and in the big picture, it's going to create more jobs somewhere else. That's just how economies work.

It sucks to lose your job and I really do sympathize (been there). And I'm not going to offer you any the-sun-is-gonna-come-out-tomorrow peptalk because I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear it.

[librechik]

92. please reserve panic mode to the ACTUAL firing event

hard to respond to hypotheticals. Too much fear in the air generally.

[Fla Dem]

93. Sorry if you experience a job lose, but companies reorganize all the time.

Mostly to out source jobs overseas and to maximize profits. That generally results in job losses for someone. It's a fact of life. No one is guaranteed employment for life. At least if there is a reorganization of those companies originating and servicing student loans, the cause was for a greater good.

[eridani]

96. Massive failure? Are you fucking KIDDING? Some of us are old enough to have benefitted

--from the National Defense Education Loans. I paid 2% interest on loans to go to a private college--total debt burden =$4000 or so. That program was far, far better than the subsequent privatized programs.

[cynatnite]

99. On the other end, this is good for students and their families...

More Pell Grant money, lower interest rates, and repayment relief.

Sorry, but I'm a student and I think this is good news for me and my family.

[Ikonoklast]

100. What did you do before?

Are your skills transferable to other financial organizations?

[anigbrowl]

101. Oh dear, what a mess

First, the federal government has offices in every state. Presumably, they will need people to administer these loans, so is there not a good chance that your experience in this area would allow to you apply for one of these jobs?

Also... 'we have all been told that when this thing passes the Senate to expect 1 in 3 of us to be laid off'. Even if that occurs exactly as you describe, I can't help observing that this means there is a 1 in 3 chance of you losing your job, no? I am having some difficulty understanding the claim you are making here, although I don't blame you in the least for being concerned about your prospects.