Hurtin Times!

[Panzermacher]

Sad thing is...the majority of us are too old to go job hunting again. If things do crash, some young kid who is hale and hearty will get chosen for a job over us broke down old people! IT is ugly out there, and like what going on in LT's part of the woods is the same here too. Private owned Businesses are just dying away. Other things are coming along and just destroying them...(I can think of Wally World here..)

[lufttiger]

When Wally World opened up here, about 10 years ago, i saw right away
5 business's go down.

[Pylon1357]

I agree things are getting tougher. I am a licensed automotive Mechanic. I hold an Interprovicial certification in Ontario, plus I have Senior Master Status with Ford.

I no longer work for a Ford dealer as I was laid off 1 year ago. I have since gone to work for a local Suzuki Dealership. We do many used cars so I am able to make ends meet I no longer travel the Militaria show circuit as I simply can not afford to.

Everyone is feeling the crunch due to higher taxes, higher cost of fuel means higher prices for everything including food.

I am currently making 1/4 less than I did 4 years ago, my kids are now 19, 18, and 14. I figure I will be forced to work until they bury me in my toolbox. LOL

[Freightshaker]

Originally Posted by Scout32

but as long as the trucks roll we'll have something to do.

Think that goes for everyone; if we stop, the country stops.

[MAGNA]

We are supposedly having a boom time here in Western Australia. Mining and Gas are going through the roof with the Chinese and Indian markets opening up.

It all sounds good but house prices have trebled in the last 5 - 6 years. Rentals have doubled and even trebled at the same time. If you want a house built it can be a two year wait.

Jobs are around for sure but now there is a push to bring in migrant workers (cheap labour) and dump the locals.

It all sounds similar to what happened overseas. When the work runs out the migrant workers will want to stay and there will be a huge number of people who are not really academically qualified for much. I hope that doesn't sound racist because it isn't meant to be. Just that it doesn't make much sense to me.

I agree about corporate support. The bigger mobs do a lot of advertising about how much service they give to the customer but if you work for them you have to keep explaining to customers that what they bought doesn't have all the features in the ad unless they pay more (fine print) and you are the one who cops all the agro.

One thing though - I see U.S. and British companies are really starting to work hard on electric vehicles - decent ones too with the same horsepower as a V8. This is a vital thing for our futures - not only in the environmental sense but in that it will take away our dependence on oil and then take away the power other countries have over all of us. The reshaping of our economies will follow and it should be for the better.

[lufttiger]

Originally Posted by Freightshaker

Think that goes for everyone; if we stop, the country stops.

You here anything about a Trucker Strike?, that would kill me.

[Ghost Rider]

This isnt the best subject for my first post here but I have been feeling the pinch of high fuel prices because I turn wrenches in a diesel repair shop. I don't make that much yet because I still have a long way to go. I hope to get into some technical schooling to help me get my wages up because I only have 5 years of experience in a shop with several certified mechanics. I am not married but $13 dollars an hour doesn't go very far for me.

That might be because I like to buy older cars & fix them up to sell but I never have the heart to sell them for very much when I get done with them. I know a lot of ladies that can't afford very much. I don't think that school is going to be easy with things the way they are in Wichita right now. I am only 30 so I think I have a lot of life yet to live but I sure wish I could see some light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes I wonder if a train might offer some hope. (Joking)

About the only business that hasnt seemed to slow down for us is the heavy equipment & oil field companys that use us to repair or maintain their trucks or machines. The company I work for helps me out a little bit by having me work as a security guard during our closed hours because I live just across the street & spend a lot of time outside tinkering with stuff. It helps but Goddard is not exactly what I would call a crime zone. If I think of all the equipment we have over there it kind of surprises me that there is not more attempts but I guess the dogs might have something to do with that.

I hate to see other people being worried about things like this. I hope everyone here somehow manages to get through some of the current economic hardships to a better time ahead of us. These things always seem to come in waves.

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Ghost Rider

I am only 30 so I think I have a lot of life yet to live but I sure wish I could see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Take it from someone who has been through a lot of tunnels, GR, there is always light. It may take a while to get to it, but its always there.

[Freightshaker]

Originally Posted by lufttiger

You here anything about a Trucker Strike?, that would kill me.

There was suppose to be a shutdown/slow down strike last Tuesday by independent drivers. Many did conduct slow down strikes (3 trucks blocked traffic in Chicago I heard) protesting high fuel prices and low fuel surcharges. Most of us company drivers can't shut down since our company will just fire us and hire two students to replace us. Truck drivers are the second most in demand occupation but we are also a 'dime a dozen' and have a high turn over rate.

If the truckers could ever organize, we'd be the most powerful union ever. The government and other unions would be at their mercy. The Teamsters have really moved out of the driving field where they started. I highly doubt the government would allow us to unionize since we could shut down the country within a week.

[TRDG]

I found to my dismay that there is a shortage of drivers for my dirt and bark shipments. they were supposed to be showing up beginning last week, about 8 trucks, so far only two have shown up!!! About half the loads are out of florida, but some are just about an hour away from our store..... very strange I find that to be.

Cheers, my take from where I work and deal with this kind of thing lately.

Tom