There’s nothing I despise more than bankers. I don’t mean the little guys who help me deposit checks or open accounts. I mean the guys in charge who caused the recession and do whatever they can to squeeze as much money out of us any way they can whenever they can however they can.

So here’s an article in the New York Times that gives us the good news that thousands of bankers got huge bonuses last year (and traders, too, let’s not forget traders and the great service they do and the value they add to our society and what fine humanitarians they are):

At least 4,793 bankers and traders were paid more than $1 million in bonuses last year even as profits at the biggest banks dwindled and they accepted tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money, according to a report released on Thursday by the New York attorney general’s office.

[more…]

{ 0 comments }

I must be losing my mind. I’m reading this article about the new retirement, you know, the one where you work instead of retiring, and I come across this.

It might help to know that you are not alone. The recession has caused many baby boomers to rethink retirement, leading them to accept that they will probably work longer and retire later than planned.

“You have to understand this is not going to be your parent’s retirement,” said Cali Williams Yost, president of Work + Life Fit, a workplace flexibility consulting firm in Madison, N.J., and author of “Work + Life.”

That said, your future doesn’t have to be the same old job with the same old schedule.

“You don’t have to go to an office from 9 to 5 every day,” Ms. Yost said. “You could take a lower salary and less responsibility, work from home, job-share. This will give you time for other parts of your life — like pursuit of an avocation, time with family or philanthropy.”

Okay, let me see if I got this straight. I can’t retire because I don’t have the money and this frees me up to indulge my secret desire for philanthropy. This frees me up to pursue an avocation and spend more time with my family. What a silver lining. And this is so much better than the traditional retirement, where you got to do these things and had the added benefit of not having to work at all.

My understanding is that philanthropy is the act of supporting causes that you care about, mainly by giving them money. How does not having enough money to retire somehow magically free up money for philanthropy? Every bit of that advice is bull. Who’s going to give me this job that pays less money and why do I want it? Walmart? Who’s going to let me work at home? Who’s going to let me job share?

There’s no silver lining in any of this. It’s pure happy crap.

{ 3 comments }

Michael Jackson was one of those people who had to die young so that he could become completely a legend. He’s James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. He’s Elvis and Buddy Holly and John Lennon. He’s Princess Diana.

That he made it to 50 is surprising, but 50 might pass for young in today’s world.

I hated the Jackson Five’s music. And I never liked Michael Jackson’s solo music, either. Not a single song.

Okay, except one, and maybe that’s why I feel so sad he’s dead. [more…]

{ 0 comments }

Back when I was 21 or so and a little troubled, I had a weird crew of heroes – Muhammad Ali, Captain Kirk and Spock, Neil Young, Steve Carlton of the Phillies, and Johnny Carson. Nothing used to cheer me up more than sitting there listening to Johnny’s monologue while Ed McMahon roared in the background. It seemed they were always having so much fun. Most of them are still here, but not the crew of the Tonight Show.

{ 0 comments }

The problem with being laid off at any age, besides constantly worrying about money, fearing you might never work again, and wishing you were dead, is that it ends, and then you realize you didn’t enjoy it half as much as you should have.

Now I’m back at work, getting up early EVERY day, putting on stupid clothes, driving a long time, sitting in a horrible green chair the color of a bad crayon, and trying to figure out what I’m doing in this tiny cubicle in this converted warehouse. And I’m just as depressed, maybe more so, then when I was laid off.

Ah, but there will be money. For awhile anyway.

I’ve noticed that where I work, most of the employees, including the two who came in with me and several other recent hires, are not what you’d call new to the workforce. In other words, they’re old. Forties, fifties, no twenties, very few thirties. It’s a big government contractor, and as one white-haired fellow of about 53 put it, they never lay you off. Of course, they might move you around, but they don’t kick you out the door if they can help it.

So that’s good. And everyone there is nice. And I’ve got a badge with my picture on it that I’m not allowed to lose under penalty of death, and there are delis nestled among the warehouses and the weeds, and I found a place where a foreign fellow with a ponytail serves powerful inexpensive espresso, and one of the company’s most obvious eccentrics has invited me out for sarcasm and fajitas, so things will improve. I’ll eventually even figure out what my job is.

But man, they’ve got bad chairs. Why is it so damn hard to find a good chair in life?

{ 0 comments }

Here’s a nice angry article by a woman who isn’t happy about being discriminated against. It’s in a lonely, sparsely visited blog like mine called kmsconcepts. I need to introduce her to Matt the dweeb from three posts ago who thinks the epitome of technical competence is updating your Facebook once a day, texting your friends, and playing video games. Here’s a quote from the post.

I cannot express enough my outrage. I am nearing 60, have worked since I’m 15, raised a child, have technical skills born in the inception of the ‘computer revolution’, know how to build my own system, in addition to advanced technical skills, can speak and write English with accuracy, can work 60+ hours a week without blinking, can train, inspire and entertain younger workers in my field with well-delivered and humorous tales, have no savings, and am now out of a job. My job(s) are sent to a junior in India who can’t spell.

In looking for work, I can be adaptable, resourceful, and positive, to a point. I will accept less money than I have earned in the past…It was never really about the money – I love what I do, so if I can paid at all, I’m happy.

So, now, what to do? I can’t pay my insurance (have been carrying my own for years), can’t get even a low-level job because they think I’ll leave, and explore other business models for products and services that are not in my existing skill set, BUT I am game for acquiring new skills, and think of my experience as something valuable and useful.

I am out-sourced, out-of-work, and not able to think that I’ll magically find ‘my love’ around the next corner, probably because I have enough experience to know it isn’t there.

Should I be depressed? you bet. Should I be angry at the injustice of it all? you bet. Should I start or stop complaining? no way.

Yeah, man, that’s the attitude.

{ 0 comments }

According to one of the Times bits about the struggles of older workers getting re-employed that I quoted in the previous post, although we find it harder to get back in work once we lose our jobs, we aren’t losing them as quickly as the rest of the work force.

On average, laid-off workers in this age group were out of work 22.2 weeks in 2008, compared with 16.2 weeks for younger workers. Even when they finally land jobs, they typically experience a much steeper drop in earnings than their younger counterparts.

Older workers do hold some advantages, though. Many have avoided layoffs in this recession, and government statistics show that people 45 and older currently have a lower unemployment rate than younger workers.

I can see how this might happen. The older workers have been around longer. They’re more often in positions of responsibility. They’re more likely the ones doing the laying off and they’re probably more likely to lay off younger workers. Plus they often have valuable experience specific to the place where they work.

But once they’re out of work, they’re perceived as old and expensive and perhaps behind the times. And that valuable experience doesn’t necessarily apply at other places.

And finally, there’s this from the same article. And boy I hate reading it.

The oldest baby boomers have already begun retiring. But with retirement accounts plunging in value, more older workers than ever are trying to stay in the work force. And some unemployed boomers, frustrated after months of fruitless searching, have concluded that their only option is to turn their backs on successful careers and start over at much lower pay.

{ 0 comments }

This is must reading from the New York Times , as is this on the problems facing older workers. I’m also linking to the comments associated with the articles, which are equally infuriating and illuminating.

Here’s a quote. “There’s no easy way to gain general tech skills that young people have but to be young — play video games, update your Facebook daily, text-message your friends.”

That was from Matt. Matt is a moron who just doesn’t think anyone over say 40 can, you know, use a computer. It’s not really that hard to text your friends, although it is terminally stupid. And really, updating your Facebook daily is no great technical accomplishment and certainly not a sign of any advanced human capabilities. I’m sure my computer skills are better than Matt’s, as is my brain, and I really can’t help wondering what job it is that Matt feels is better accomplished by someone adept at text messaging, updating their Facebook pages, and playing video games.

The Ipod Matt probably twiddles all day long, the Iphone he runs his slimy fingers all over, the PC he stares into when updating his precious Facebook are all the products of companies built by men who are now about 55 years old. And I’m sure they’re both more intelligent and computer capable than Matt.

{ 1 comment }