i'm kind of getting scared now with this economy.at first i though it was mostly hype but the biggest factory left in my city {others like carrier left years ago} is about to close leaving thousands of people with good paying blue collar jobs in the dust.

so have any of you guys been layed off.

i hope not.

i'm more thankful for my job than ever before.i dont have to worry about being layed off completely but i do have to worry about going from maybe full-time to part-time which would kill me.

all this is the [censored] reason i dont have a scrapmuk on order right now so i bet the busse boys are feeling it at least a little.this is the first scrapyard offer i havnt jumped on since the DFLE

You're certainly not alone Bruce! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Hello all I am in Elkhart Indiana and the World news this morning stated that we are the Highest unemployment Rate 18% in the NATION, The company I work for left 200 go right before Christmas they did offer Buy out for them, As far as my Job not sure! I have been off recovering from a Shoulder surgery, our area is known for the Recreational RVs Business

I was laid off right before Thanksgiving and it's been hard trying to find a job. I know of four other family and friends that have also lost their jobs. If you think your job sucks right now, be thankful at least you have one! I just have to keep reminding myself that God is in control.

It's happening to your North as well, guys. There were quite a few lay offs before Christmas in both Central and Eastern Canada; a lot of people left without jobs just in time for the Holidays!

Fortunately, I've got a pretty solid job, that is unlikely to ever lay me off; but things are still getting a little tight, what with some businesses raising the prices of their product to try and make up for dwindling sales. You think that they'd be doing the opposite, to try and move product, and create revenue.

The NW US where I am has been clobbered !! I was planning on completely retiring two years ago but my children and their spouses needed jobs. So- the business is now family owned and operated. I am "supposed" to be the boss but you guys know how that goes <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> (lol) I do think that this situation has brought folks closer and values are being looked at much harder now. This is a good thing as I think family and friends had taken back seat to other things that are not really important. I don't think it will be any leader that will bail us out but rather us standing soilid as one and helping and loving each other <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />.In the end this is what government is built on anyway. So while times are tough guys- keep smiling and apprecite what you have today. Value your health family and friends each and every day <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. As for our knives- all one has to do is look at the exchange and the dropping prices <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. Just my thoughts-enough said-Thank You <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yep, north of the border is feeling the hit as well.
Govt here announced that it's laying off 20% of the public
service this year and that all senior ministers are taking
a 20% wage rollback. Would have been more relevant if they
hadn't given themselves 43% raises last year.

The only good thing about all that's going on is like Ordawg says.
Necessity does bring families and friends closer together and in lean
times, values tend to be re-evaluated, and people tend to discover what
is really important.

One of our brethren has a great sig line that has particular significance
to me.
"If you're going through hell.....don't stop! : Winston Churchill"

Shoot, I accidentally picked up another SOD because of the falling economy. I won an auction for much lower than I thought the knife would go for in all honesty. It worked out alright though, I can't complain about the price. I might be selling it to my brother at cost. Again, I think I could turn a profit on BF too.

I hate to see so many people loosing their jobs, taking a cut in pay to keep a job, and the families that are doing with less. I can't help to feel that a lot of this would have been curtailed if Wall Street and the other markets would have tried to be human and not taking all they could. That goes for the execs in a lot of the banking, auto, etc industries. I heard a guy the other day mention his retirement package from a auto company and I about died--he makes more in retirement than I make teaching for 4 months. Keep your heads up, and pray for better times sooner.

Not to be uncaring to the distress of families in this nation, but we can't blame it entirely on faceless Thems in big finance. How many of you have US-built computers? US-built cars? US-built dishes, tools? How much of your house was built with US material, and US laborers?

A large part of the financial crisis as it stands now is that we simply do not have anywhere near the manufacturing that we used to. It is cheaper to make things in other nations and then ship them here, which means our money is flowing out the drain to other places. Solving the crisis is not a matter of high finance, but of employing US citizens in meaningful industry here on our own soil, and keeping the value generated within our own borders instead of pumping it away.

*shrug*

When the U.S. makes computers, cars, dishes, tools and laborers as good and affordable as what is available elsewhere then we will buy them here. Meanwhile, I've been out of work since before Halloween.