Hey, folks, haven't we been good purchasers? Haven't we admirably carried out our part of the consumerists' contract? Then, why have our jobs and all those benefits disappeared, sometimes even our homes. Not wanting to be seen as whiners, we've been sucking up our personal pain like injured ball players not wanting to be taken out of the game. As good sports we're supposed to cheer for the person who makes the game winning play even though we've been side-lined. Right? Then we find out that the "hero" has been taking steroids.
I understand that by taking myself out of the game (meaning I have a LOT less money than I used to and less inclination to spend it) I could be seen as letting our side down. If I don't shop like I used to, how is the economy going to recover? It's possible a lot of us are headed for simpler lives since many of us have less disposable income. So, if we get happier with our lives and need less expensive distractions (see the first entry), how can our economy grow? We've been told this must happen before we have any chance of recovering what we had.
I think there's something wrong with this whole economic growth business. If our consumption and output are supposed to grow every year, isn't what results a big, fat bubble - maybe like right now? Despite how it looks sometimes, this planet has limited resources. I don't see how we as Americans can keep consuming and growing as we have been. This boom and bust business is making us suspicious of our "pull yourself up by your own bootstrap" culture - and it should.
Having some time to think about our place in all of this, consider again that we may not want to look for a job that puts us right back in the same position where we needed all those (expensive) distractions and contribute to the next bubble burst. In the last entry I offered some re-training ideas. If you still want to be in your profession, consider sharing one job with another person. Here are some web sites that could help you sort this out.
Pros and Cons of Job Sharing - http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/170244
How to present your job share proposal to your boss - http://julietdupreez.hubpages.com/hub/A-Job-Share-Proposal-Your-Employer-Cant-Refuse
How to find someone to share a job with (the information is free, but actual contacts will cost a small fee) http://www.womans-work.com/job_share_search.htm
For teachers, check with your district's HR department. They may have a list. If they aren't actually anti-job sharing, but don't have anything in place, write a proposal for them. See above web site for help.
Google: job sharing (your community and year, like Seattle job share 2011)
This addresses the concern about unsustainable growth and job possibilities http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/09/15/sustainable-side-job-sharing
These folks are excited about job sharing and making a sustainable economy - http://missionjobshare.com/
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