Unemployment Isn’t the End of the World
Unemployment is a particularly troubling circumstance for many individuals. It adversely impacts their finances, self-confidence, and emotional well-being; while, alternatively, providing them far too much time to extensively dwell upon its most agonizing aspects. Moreover, this is equally true of all three basic types of potential unemployment. These three major unemployment categories are: Personal [or transitory], Recessionary [or transitional], and Depressionary [or structural]… and each specific one offers an entirely different set of: circumstances, problems, opportunities, and yes [even] benefits! Therefore, it is extremely important to know - precisely - what we are dealing with.
For instance, Personal Unemployment can be dealt with quite easily and/or readily in a very tight job market. There are always numerous other employers who – if dealt with in an organized and professional manner – will gladly put you to work in their own vibrant and burgeoning industries, despite considerable amounts of personal baggage! Thus, all one has to do is: enjoy the free time off, look for well-suited opportunities, fill out enough applications, and remain upbeat or positive – in the foreseeable interim.
The benefits of Transitory Unemployment are well understood by many. These may include: a well needed [but relatively underpaid] vacation for those who may not have ever gotten one through their previous employer, time to bond much closer with their frequently neglected families, and a chance to ultimately start over upon their necessary career selection. This may include: going back to school, re-prioritizing your home verses career oriented focus, and/or researching a career fitting [or closer] occupation.
However,Recessionary Unemploymentis a far more difficult prospect for the average and individual worker! With a transitional and [essentially] slack job market, most employers are far too focused upon merely getting by - with whom they already have currently at their disposal. Consequently, employing yet others is entirely based upon absolute necessity, rather than any other solitary factor. Hiring [or promoting from] within their own personal organizations is not only important for employee morale, but also in order to retain their own expensively trained talents longer into the foreseeable future. This is true, even when layoffs don’t occur - but even more so, when they invariably do!
Since this type of unemployment occurs generally quite infrequently, many people – particularly, the younger and less experienced ones - are largely ignorant of its particular: problems, opportunities, and benefits. Even more importantly, they are usually unaware that these economic and sociological effects operate upon both: an Individual, and Corporate Socio-Political Level!
Transitional Unemployment will most frequently effect entire: industries, nations, and even world economies. Thus, greatly exacerbating the difficulties inherent in obtaining all future opportunities, at regaining necessary employment, for some largely protracted period of time. For one thing, the competition for the remaining jobs is now far more cutthroat than previously envisioned. Entire Industries will require a certain amount of time to figure out and adjust to new: opportunities, processes, and/or technologies to begin once again moving forward – so they now offer very little hope for outsiders looking in. Contrary to popular opinion, however, there is [honestly] little that government can do to assist over the short term – other thanFood Stamps, or an unexpected extension to your minimal level ofUnemployment Compensation.
And yet, even this type of unemployment has it own personal [or, corporately sociological] opportunities and benefits! The key for those operating within such a transitional period of unemployment is to start thinking with a long-term perspective [or outlook] as quickly as possible. For, the longer it will take you to shift mental gears, the more potentially tragic will your own personal circumstances largely become… and the longer, that it takes the entire society to adjust, the more profound the overall depth of that recession will inevitably become as well.
Recessions will [almost always] require some level of re-education, or job skill training. Frequently, they may also require physically relocating to obtain meaningful and properly compensated employment. Casting a much larger prospective employment net will result in fewer opportunities, for many… but any catch, when you’re hungry enough, is a good one! The essential key is, as it has always been, “Personal Adaptability.” You either have it, or you don’t… and without it, you will most definitely suffer tremendously….
Although all of the benefits of transitory unemployment still equally apply, this far more negative type of unemployment offers several other benefits besides those others. By forcing you to look outside of your own proverbial and self-conditioned box, it also forces you [while largely kicking and screaming] to be far more: adaptable, flexible, and even personally creative! Let’s face it…. Entire multi-billion dollar industries have resulted due to the inherent creativity of highly intelligent and yet functionally destitute unemployed workers - with nothing else to do, but think up solutions to their own unique problems. While without an impending need to do so, they might never have stumbled across these very same [or particular] answers. Who, honestly, knows - for sure?
Finally, we have come to the third potential type of unemployment… and we must admit, that this one is deeply disturbing for everyone caught up within its firm and conditionally unrelenting grasp. It is our worst political and economic fear. It is the Horrific Nightmare ofDepressionary [or structural] Unemployment! In fact, it is considered by many of us, to be so economically taboo of a political subject, that: Politicians and Economists won’t use it [out of their fear for starting one], and Historians won’t even write about one [until its memory has long since faded away]. Thus, even the oldest living ones among us often have little experiential knowledge to draw upon - when something like this inevitably occurs.
Although it has yet to bottom out internationally, this is the type of unemployment period, in which we now live! Structural Unemployment is a very serious: Political, Economic, and Sociological Matter – which has distinctive and vastly significant, “Causes And Effects.” These things do not [ever] just happen to financially occur without some: serious mismanagement, collective political ineptitude, or micro-managerial tinkering of some sort. Don’t fool yourselves into thinking that a Totally Free [or, Laissez Faire] Market can ever lead to such massively dysfunctional shifts.
Our current Structural Unemployment – which was brought on by repetitive Keynesian over-adjustments, over a very significant number of years - by successive governmental administrations – has been largely worsened by numerous North American and Western European political insolvencies. Not only are many American States now nearing complete financial collapse, but “The United States Government is essentially bankrupt,” according to Laurence J. Kotlikoff – Professor of Economics at Boston University.
Nor, is he alone in holding this particular position. Peter Schiff, Gerald Celente, Jim Rogers, Niall Ferguson, and hundreds of otherAustrian Economistsworldwide – hold this very same opinion! The fact that the: International Monetary Fund, Federal Reserve, Congressional Budget Office, and Department of Treasury – are now [finally] admitting this difficulty, as well, is very telling. After having previously stated that our Economic Fundamentals were essentially quite good, they have now fully reversed their previously stated and overly optimistic positions.
While, Depressions are never good time periods for anyone, they aren’t necessarily: “The End Of The World!” In fact, many people have benefited significantly during these massively contracting economic calamities. These inevitable beneficiaries include: strategic thinkers, savvy investors, and well-informed risk takers – who can accurately and objectively evaluate the long-term direction of the markets; and invest their own capital appropriately. A certain percentage of these highly-attuned individuals will even grow quite rich in the process.
As the cumulative effect of our Structural Unemployment deepens, we may fully expect the average American to: start acting and spending more responsibly, necessarily pay down their accumulated debts, get more situationally involved within their communities, pay closer attention to our political system, acquire new personally beneficial skills, and become far more situationally self-reliant! These are all tremendous societal benefits – which wouldn’t have otherwise occurred, without these more disastrous economic consequences.
And this is [precisely] what is now occurring – across our nation. People are going out to eat less often; attending fewer: movies, concerts, and ticketed events; visiting their local libraries rather than pricier bookstores; and shopping for true bargains, rather than just grossly over-hyped and deceptive store sales. Most of us are now paying down our credit cards, or at least saving them for inevitably necessary emergencies. And some of us are even re-learning the tried and true skills of: Home Gardening, Food Storage, and Canning. We are regaining the necessary skills of: Ingenuity, Thrift, and Accountability.
As Americans, we are now: sobering, awakening, and wising up to the realities now surrounding us; and those realities are honestly life changing! The people around our nation are now: walking more, using their front porches, talking to one another about important and socially relevant topics, and even attending Free Public Events upon a much larger scale. Many are volunteering their time, skills, and abilities to local charitable organizations – while looking for eventual employment. These are all very good things, for our society in general!
A very famous saying is, “No Pain, No Gain…” and when it comes to the area of unemployment – this is particularly true. For the greater the economic consequences, occurring upon the surface, the greater will be the ultimate benefit to our overall society in general! Even these clouds, too, have: “A Silver Lining.”
