The Pandemic fallout is a LONG way from over.

It is literally in every field and profession and Biden creepily whispering "Pay them more." is doing nothing to help the situation!

 

Degreed engineer or qualified electrician interested in the mid west? Let me know!

 

You got it! It is like they are trying to bankrupt US manufacturers!

 

At this point in history I think it is more like they are intentionally Bankrupting the entire Nation. The Pandemic just gave them excuse to accelerate it to warp speed. The left has always been about globalism and putting every other Nation ahead of the USA. Replacing USA Constitutional Law with UN Policy and making us a good global citizen. I am not as old some but old enough to remember when almost everything was made in the USA and Imports were the more exotic stuff and odds are my underwear were made in NC or KY Not in China. We literally gave our manufacturing base away to 3rd world Countries and made ourselves dependent and weak in the process.

 

We have been rocked to sleep with cheap goods from China and now China is using our money to built a massive army. I think we are now in a race to move chip manufacturing back to the US before China takes Taiwan. XI's speech was chilling.

 

Something else I have noticed at the Universities in my general area. There are A whole lot of Chinese and Iranian Professors teaching at them now and a whole lot of them can barely spit out the English language.

Here is a fine example of one of our typical SIUC Professors. This one is particularly vocal on the local news stations FB page promoting how much better the USA would be if we embraced the Socialism of the CCP. I usually go to FB Jail for asking her.. "If the Socialism and the CCP are so great why in the hell aren't you there instead spreading that poison here?" And then boom 20 minutes later I am in FB jail for 7-30 days



Of course my general attitude towards FB jail is............

 

I backed up all my FB pictures/videos a couple years ago and deleted my account.

 

I visited the local scrap/recycle yard and saw lots of big equipment that had been sold or scrap, good equipment but business have gone dry and no employees to run things so manufacturing is falling off like a stone.

 

The eviction moratorium just keeps getting extended and extended and extended. Sooner or later, either the landlords are going to have to declare bankruptcy and dump all of their properties or, in the unlikely occasion of the evictions actually happening, there's going to be millions of folks, employed, unemployed and underemployed, out in the streets. So where do you find work when your address is "my car/truck/van parked wherever I can find a place"? Add to that the halting of the extra unemployment $$$$ and it's gonna be a madhouse.

 

Used to be folks that hung out at the entrance/exit of Menards, Lowes and Home Depot offering themselves up as day laborers. Used to snag a few to do the basic monkey work when I had the Landscape Company and when I put up small square bales. Don't have to be real skilled to shovel off and wheel barrow a load of rocks or mulch and tossing bales is not exactly a high skill job. A lot of them worked to buy the next bottle or baggy, others were just down and out and trying to get by. I have noticed over the last year that all of them have disappeared and have been replaced with the people holding signs "WILL WORK FOR FOOD" and will cuss at you and spit at you if you offer work instead of a cash donation. Something changed.

 

Even with highly sought after skills, it would be damn near impossible to find worthwhile work and worthwhile pay! It seems that my fields of experience haven't kept up with the pay scale, and while i'm retired, the demand is far greater then the supply of workers with the certs needed to do the work!
As an example, I am a full A&P cert. aircraft specialist with tons of factory engine training and am one of the few non oem supported mechanics with full factory support! In years past ( if I had wanted to make it a life ) I could have made what was then, outstanding money, not so today! I was offered a very nice package to lure me out of retirement, I was nice enough to look their offer over and noticed the salary and not a per engine percent, or an hourly wage! Now, on my own, I charge 80% of retail OEM for a full rebuild Lycoming IO series, generally around 25K per engine with papers! Most shops would offer a percent of that, usually around 50% and they do the paper work and warranty and all the legal stuff! Not too bad, but not what I am used to! Salary was a joke, I could make more as a truck driver! Obviously, I turned it down! They looked at me like I was insane, I told them what I charge and how I get Full OEM support and pricing, and they shut up and walked away, mad as hell! They would need to pay me damn near what I am charging now for it to be even close to workable, and as it is now, I only do about 6 engines a year, If that! If I really pushed, I could do around 40 engines per year, mostly when ever I wanted to, and no time limits or demands! As it is now, I have friends lined up 10 deep and willing to wait and to pay what ever I charge to do their engines and papers! Nice gig if it's your thing!

 

@Ura-Ki
Same here but Rotary with frame and turbine with fuel plus ++.

Sloth

 

We should team up, set up a shop and bring in the good stuff! Lots of guys and gals from Alaska would love what we got! I got three dudes up there flying my engines, and all their buddies want my engines now! I get my semi finished parts from a foundry in Japan, far Superior metallurgy to what's available here in the states or even Europe, and at a much better price! My engines don't need oil coolers unless their boosted!

 

They don't use spud rigs much anymore Gator.

 

Extremely good posts by all, very, very interesting...

I have a direct insight into Home Depot due to a close friend and neighbor and his store, which he recently quit because they are so short-handed he was being worked to death without being compensated, is short no less that 20+ people. In his case, he was there 7 years got excellent reviews was trusted to do all aspects of the store and still got no better than $18 and hour. Why? Because they could get away with it, with lousy medical benefits, lousy pay and if you didn't like it then hit the road because there is a shortage of jobs in this area and the employers know it and take advantage of it. Same at Lowes.

Now, they are feeling the effects of it and even had to change their hours because they cannot get employees, not just that store but numerous stores. One would think that a Billion dollar company would take better care of its employees but - no - not in America, if one was in Germany or some other first world country then yes, much better, but here it's whatever the corporations can get away with. They talk a good line but that's all it is - lip service. So, I see one of the problems is caused by Corporate America's own making and that is unrealistic employment compensation using the 'pay the least we can get away with' as oppose to 'pay in line with merit, loyalty and professionalism' approach. Oh, they talk a good game but they don't really play it. Just like American Health Care...

Look at the prescription medicine in this country or Health Care in general. Upon my return to this country about 6 years ago, I told my own story on this forum and received a thrashing from numerous folks here who were trying to defend the crap medical care we have in this country. Why is it crap? Because it is so friggin expensive that's its almost impossible to obtain because its unaffordable! And, they have us blackmailed because without care then you or your love ones can die - so - we pay, no matter what, we pay. Do we receive better care in line with what we pay? Absolutely not. I received better and much cheaper care in NUMEROUS countries around the world! It's true! I know you won't believe it but it's true! First person story, my story, medicine that cost $1500 at Walmart here in North Idaho, I obtained 2 hours away in Canada, same medicine, same producer of medicine, even from a Walmart in Canada for - $265. True story. No, I did not get anything from Canada insurance or etc. I had to pay out of my own pocket for everything. Oh! I had to have a Canadian doctor prescription which cost me a whopping $65 for the doctor visit....as compared to a visit to my own doctor here which cost $220...if I can get out of there without paying more. Why can Canada sell it cheaper? Because if big Pharma wants to sell it in Canada than that is what they can sell it for. The can do this due to the government health service there. OH MY GOD! The government is involved with price fixing! Call it what you want but it's the same damn medicine which cost 5X less. And, isn't that one of government's responsibilities to make a level playing field for all while also protecting us?

Anyway, here in North Idaho employers also are getting hit - hard. Walmart just up their starting wage to $15 from ~$12.

One must cast a very large net to encapsulate the root of the problem(s) as it takes in all levels of employment, inflation and governmental policy and even politics. Starting at the beginning, education costs have soared? Why? The main reason is Federal loans for education availability even Basket Weaving and these costs trickle down to employers. Education is now big business plus political business...but I digress. Politics brought in the Entitlements Era which will never, NEVER go away. They're like Communism - looks good on paper but suck in reality. And, the only way to get rid of them is - well - you can't! After the collapse, we can ensure they are not reinstated but they're impossible to eliminate and next to impossible to downsize them. But, all-in-all in my opinion, it's our government's fault for where this is all going. I would say it's also our fault since we elect our government but after the Presidential election was obviously stolen then one can't honestly say when our last honest election occurred.

Anyway, I have one word which will encompass all we have been talking about and is coming soon to cities and towns near you - inflation, very bad inflation...and if Biden's plans go forward as written expect it to be worse than anyone has seen before in our life time, probably since the depression...and it took a world war to get us out of it.

 

@Ura-Ki
Im on my way out of 60 years of working.
I'll do a few 200 and larger frame inspections etc , but Im done for wrenching to sign out.
I'll inspect /oversee younger AME's R class but I have no desire to buy myself a job for money i don't need.
Thank you Sir , but you need to have a go getter heart to pair up with.

Mine is looking for down time and fun now.
Sloth

 

I think as more and more of the burger flippers demand $15/hr the better and better automation looks to the franchise owners. Think kiosks for all ordering. Minimal human intervention.
On the healthcare thing I see what they put my husband through for everything so I stick with my employer paid healthcare. He is on my insurance too just in case he actually gets sick and needs to be seen right away. Mass health state sponsored health care in MA death paneled my mom so, NO I am not a big fan of government run health care.
I agree with you that we are heading for inflation. All I can do is look out for my family, friends and myself. I want to get some land and become a hermit.

 

@mysterymet That's an interesting thought and one that will definitely take hold - 'automation.' I imagine we'll see a explosion of robotic automation in many of these manual labor industries like 'burger flipping.' Of course, the fallout of that is less jobs...while our and the world's population continues to grow but which can't have a happy ending but...it is what it is.

Health Care...the bane of my life since I returned to the states. Can't afford it yet can't live without it. I am now retired so I can get Medicare but wife is younger than me with no Health Care so, like you, I have to worry about the spouse...and I do. It could ruin us overnight...

 

Yeah,I hear they flip over to easily? Mah, I was in production.