Hi all was just wondering how things are over there, money and work wise. As for over here, im a carpenter/builder. The work and money seems to have dried up for now. Cant earn any sort of wages really. People just havent got the dough. Was having a little chat to some friends in the trades, they all said the same things. When i got home the other night, went through my finances, only to find i have not paid myself, for five months. The only money i have had, has been selling my rodding stuff. My back garden is quite bare now. Just what is the world coming to? Catch you all later Roland
the rich are getting richer,the poor are getting poorer. more tax cuts for Paris Hilton. high gas prices,without the services provided by the tax you pay there.
I'm poor. Who cares. I'm having fun and that's all that matters. Guess it's because I come from dirt poor Texans who never had much to start with. But I know that because I can laugh and have a good time with friends and family makes me the richest person on in the World. xxx Brandy
Not to complain but I just heard on the radio news channel call NPR (National Public Radio) that the cost of Natural gas is suppose to go up over the winter by 70% and electricity by 17%. hang onto your money boys and girls, I expect the bottom to drop out of the economy and we'll be lucky if any of us will be able to keep our jobs. Scary times for sure.
You have internet access...which puts you about 80 percent ahead of the rest of the world... I wouldn't say you were poor... tok
The economy must be booming....I'm in the trucking biz and we've been swamped with freight for the last two years...it WAS a little slow in the 2000 to 2002 period (our little recession started in '99) but has been real good since then...fuel prices are HIGH but I can pass along some of that increase...Still, I bust my ass 80 - 90 hours per week, no benefits, no insurance, gone days and weeks at a time...but I do get to take off to do stuff at home...and that's the ONLY reason I'm still doing this gig....
Roland, I'm guessing, but after Katrina hit and with the devastation that followed, I would think there is going to be major work for all tradesmen, especially carpenters, when the rebuilding starts. Fordnutz.
It was the same here in Florida last summer. Everyone predicted doom and gloom because of all the storms, but at the end of the year there was actualy a tax surplus from all the sales of construction material, skilled labor was (and still is) in very short supply, and in the long run, most everyone is doing ok. Lots of times, these work droughts are regional. Might not be any carpentry where you are, but I guarantee that come this fall there will be lots to be had on the Gulf coast.
I am glad to hear your report- as many economic analysts use trucking company information to see how the economy is actually doing.
TRUE. But in the grand scope of things times are looking dark for alot of folks here in the USA. Even though some credible economist say the economy is strong, if people keep up what they are doing with accrewing debt and buying more foreign products, the bottom will fall out for a large majority of the middleclass. It has happened gradually over the last 40yrs but we are starting to scrape the bottom for decient jobs and we have overextended ourselves when it comes to our cost of living. The average teacher, fireman, and policemen's income is probably around $35k , with the average house running $130k or more plus everthing else on the rise, MASSIVE debt is inevitable. The price of natural gas and electricity are on the rise already. My bill reflected it last month so i talked to my father-in-law who works for the utilities company. HE said to just be glad I dont have natural gas because that is what is really going up. My uncle has been going back and forth to China to setup basicly his old job. Chinas growth is incredible, but supposibly they arent even producing anything near their capabilities. He said his company would run 36k batteries in a week. In China the factory he helped set up has yet to run 6k a week. Are we more efficient? Have we gotten to big for our britches? I am not sure. I plan on getting back to my roots within the next few years. My family has been in the USA for almost 300 years now and almost everyone of us has been working/ middleclass. Due to my luck, being in the right place at the right time or whatever you want to call it, I have almost achived upper middle class ON MY OWN, with HARD WORK. As most people I want better for the next generation of my family, but just going to college or having a trade doesnt cut it anymore. You have to be much like a farmer, jack of all trades, master of some. My plan is for a garden, savings instead of most crap that doesnt matter anyway like digital cable, and getting seriosly involved with community programs that support local farmers, co-op's , and business development programs. Best of luck to those who are down.
i know my dad is sweating because he works for the space shuttle program. (they're are thinking of discontinuing the shuttle use and going with a new type of reusable craft, or rocket that is larger to get us to Mars) hopefully, his company can adapt to a new use for Nasa.
I'd like to say that as a school teacher, I have nothing to worry about, but with the Texas education system teaching how to pass tests instead of TEACHING, I could be replaced by a computer program...
I spoke with a guy from New Orleans yesterday while washing clothes, he owns a concrete pumping firm, 12feet under water, buthe said he can't wait to get back & start rebuilding. He just got great news, a buddy offered him $350 a day servicing generators for the crews restoring the power grid. They will rebuild w/ Fed. money, will be a construction boom, fro a while.
I have no kids, a wife with a good job and make OK money for being a teacher. We have had to cut way back because of EVERYTHING has gone up. Gas prices have caused a lot of the problems with all of this. `I'LL just pass the cost on to the next guy'. Walmart, off shore, ENRON. What next? When are people going to wake up instead of giving excuses. HOFF POFF RANT AND RAVE. sorry guys My family will survive I just hate seeing my students of middle and low class students suffer.
The media wants to paint everything doom and gloom. In my part of the world EVERY business is doing well, there has been a 15 year building boom. My dad cant find enough truck drivers. We turn away work at the rodshop. The hurricane might effect some things but so did the flooding on the Mississippi in 93.
I'm an aircraft mechanic and the industry really sucks for me. Use to work 37 hrs a week then got cut back to 28 hrs a week, and after Friday the 9th my check will be cut back to 20 hrs a week. I've heard that a certain company hired for 2 aircraft maintenance positions and had 176 applications for just 2 jobs. Delta is about to lay-off 1000 more people out of CVG and that won't help. And the northwest strike doesn't help. A rough guess, I would say there are at least 15,000 aircraft mechanics looking for jobs right now. My profession is flooded with out of work mechanics and competion is high for any position at any company that is looking for acft mechs. It sucks!!! so I guess it is time to change careers?
Thank you Trent! I wish more people realized that fact. My shop's backed up. People don't HAVE to have their cars fixed when they have an accident, but they ARE. People are still eager to spend disposable income. I've had a LOT of inquiries about paint/body on older stuff lately. I priced paint and body on a 62 Chevy 4-door Tuesday--tried to scare the guy off spending(losing) money on his family heirloom--priced it at eight thousand dollars.....he wanted to know WHEN we could get to it There's going to be unemployment in some segments of society always........as there will always be shifts in demands for different skills....... I read "Chicken Little" as a child I'm not ready for the "end", so I'm not gonna look for it
T man is correct, the Media wants to portray everything as bad. There are plenty of jobs in the Omaha area,yes I know ,I don't really want to live here either.But we all have to eat,don't we. The problem is most of us do not have the luxury of doing want we love to do .But as much fun as it would be to build hot rods and dance nude at the Lesbian conventions the bottom line is we all have to have a way to pay the bills. I work in other peoples poop all day ,but it has provided me with a good life, a nice house and a great retirement. DON"T KICK THAT SOAPBOX OUT .I"M NOT DONE!!
Bro, I graduated school in 1994 with my freshly printed A&P license. It took me a few years to wisen up, but I finally changed careers away from the aviation industry. Now, I'm a fireman. I make better money and work every third day. I have lots of free time, and not too much worry about my job being outsourced. You should think seriously about a career change.
Oh yer right I forgot. Dang you caught me. Mtv offered the Growing Up Aal show to me, but I turned it down. They had to go Gotti instead. ANY moron can get free internet access at a local library.....you know, that place with BOOKS.
I think its a little lean this year.....I believe the Katrina Hurricane aftermath will affect it in a negative way as well- it cant help from hurting many facets of the economy in many ways. I believe it will surely have some effect on almost every american.
I can tell you things in my little piece of the world are not too good. Been that way for almost two years now. Just as things were starting to pick up just a little, they started raising gas prices. That pretty much put a stop to anything that might have gotten things going around here. Now they talk of raising natural gas prices? We just got our natural gas bill today, our suggested payment is suppose to be $350 a month! Last year it was $200 a month. Year before, $125 a month. Who is screwing who? We will pay what we can, and hope we can pay whatever is left at the end of April. I am a self employed business man. My annual income had dropped dramaticly over the last 2 years. At this point I'm on line to make just a little more then 1/2 of what I made 3 years ago. I suspected it was coming, I managed to cut my expences back to bare miniuim. I'm hanging in there, but if the necessities continue to cost more and business doesn't pickup, I could be in trouble. I'm not crying in my beer here, but I'm sure not seeing a big boom in my area. I'll continue to do what ever I can to pay the bills, cause there sure ain't any jobs around here to go to. Hell, even the fast food joints are closing! Gene
A local resturaunt here that only operates thurs-sat is only open friday and saturday now, becuase of the natural gas prices they can't afford to run all the heat this winter AND all the cooking equipment without losing money. They said it's gonna get worse and may have to close, sucks since they're been tehre for over 30 years.... Since I quit my regular job and started trying to to do paint work full time things have gotten real shitty and no one wants to do anythign to their cars around here anymore. Trying too hard just to keep enough money to keep their tank full. Think it's killed alot of out of state business for me too, I had months worth of work lined up and all of a sudden it's gone! Going to have to go beg for a part time job back at the shithole I quit from now......
People need to eat everyday. A restaurant that cant stay open for 6 or 7 days a week deserves to close! As for your work, you just went out on your own right? It will be slim for a few years. My boss had 10 lean years before the word of mouth and repeat customers built up to where we dont look for work . Keep your chin up, it aint the economy.........hell, the aftermarket and custom car market is at an all time high. You are just experiencing normal growth hiccups. The same people that are cancelling on you now will be begging you for work soon. Unless you are still painting in that leaky shithole!?
No more leaky shithole! I've got a deal worked out where I get to use a $65,000 paint booth now! Bake cycle and all! I know it's always slow starting out, but I figured with the deals I was giving people on work, they're be beating down the door to get their stuff done! I know the gas crunch is hurting me and the wife, she drives 40 minutes one way to work right now and it sucks! When we close on our house wednesday it'll only be a 20 minute one way though, so hopefully that'll ease the pain a bit.
The Jalopy Journal
