Yeah, I was checking out of a hotel as I posted this article, and my partner was talking to me. So sorry I incorrectly wrote “400” when I meant to write “1000”. I’ll be sure to be on my toes next time, John 😉
And yes, this time it really IS different. In my business (entertainment), all we’ve heard for decades is how it’s a recession-proof industry. LOL. What a joke.
We’re getting slammed so hard now that veterans at my company are just walking around, scratching their heads. Ad revenue – which had consistently grown (yes, even in the 70s) for YEARS is now contracting for the first time. Our company – which has NEVER reported a loss — simply can’t cash flow to all vendors anymore. Some weeks we joke about whether we will still be able to make payroll. Is this like the early 90s? Maybe on a different planet, but I lived through the 90s bust – and I’ve never seen anything like this. I was laid off from my law firm in 1991, got another job in a couple of months. Now colleagues of mine are wandering around for 8+ months after layoffs, and still don’t have replacement jobs. My condo was underwater for 8 years in the 90s, but it only lost about 15% of its value at the bottom. Already the home I sold in 2007 is worth 20% less. Do you think we’re anywhere near the bottom??
So yeah, this time IS different.
The “d” word is everywhere now. And that means that we’ve passed the 90s and the 70s. We’re heading to 1929. Heck, I’m fully-prepared to slash my standard of living by 50%, and I’ve saved up for this prospect. I’m ready for the pain. But I suspect most people aren’t in that position. Because they’re still thinking that this is going to be like the 90s or the 70s, and it’s not.
This is NOT a recession.[/quote]
The jist of this, from what I can tell, is that because your company and your cronies are having tougher times, this is something worse than a recession.
So you found a job soon after being laid off in 1991. Good for you. You probably didn’t notice that lots of folks weren’t so fortunate. In California at least, times were tough. There was even talk that California was in a depression at that time.
Reminds me of the old saying that a recession is when my neighbor loses his job, and a depression is when I (or my friends in this case) lose mine (theirs).
