economic situation from a plumber

[rockriver]

i was visiting a relative this weekend in no. ga and a plumber came by to finish a job for the relative.
--
location... boomtown county not far north of atlanta. lots of building, lots of businesses,
highly diversified business and mfg area is the recent history.
--
plumber worked for a company with 120+ employees. he got laid off 5 months ago.
when he left the company was down to 20 employees. plumber can't find work, so working for hisself doing small repair jobs. many folks don't pay him.
he just got a job working for someone offshore. will only make 15/hour. work will be in
poor area of town. U.S. gov't sponsoring the big repair job on gov't subsidized housing.
he says things are tough...

i did some road riding... in this area... many many for sale signs on houses/businesses.
things aren't good.

rr

[dilli]

No, things are not good at all in North Ga and probably not in most other areas either. Hubby creature just recently went back to work in the same business that he was in before the crash(construction-insulation) but for a different company. The company he is working for is coming out of bankruptcy and is only running a couple of guys instead of the five offices and 45 trucks that they were running. He is making a whopping 10 bux an hour, a far cry from what he once was. At the same time we feel blessed that he has even gotten another job and he will work at it as long as it holds up. When his new boss called his old boss for reference, the ol feller said, "someone is hiring????" Things are NO better and unfortunately, for the majority of those out of work because of this mess, it is not going to get much, if any better ever again.

The subsidized housing is what hubby creature is doing as well. It is the only thing going in construction. It is almost all he has done in the month he has worked thus far, down in Albany. For the foreseeable future, the job is secure because, you got it, subsidized housing in ATL area. The gubmint is creating lots of jobs:rolleyes:

[crossbow]

i was visiting a relative this weekend in no. ga and a plumber came by to finish a job for the relative.
--
location... boomtown county not far north of atlanta. lots of building, lots of businesses,
highly diversified business and mfg area is the recent history.
--
plumber worked for a company with 120+ employees. he got laid off 5 months ago.
when he left the company was down to 20 employees. plumber can't find work, so working for hisself doing small repair jobs. many folks don't pay him.
he just got a job working for someone offshore. will only make 15/hour. work will be in poor area of town. U.S. gov't sponsoring the big repair job on gov't subsidized housing.
he says things are tough...

i did some road riding... in this area... many many for sale signs on houses/businesses.
things aren't good.

rr

I know people who are doing plumbing,carpenter,driving dozers,cleaning oil burners for 8-10 dollars an hr and happy to do it, 4 yrs ago they wouldn't get out of bed for less that 25. per hr. maybe it's time America got a wake up call, some people have priced themselves right out of the market place.Many now have their toys up for sale,very expensive boats that they used twice a yr,a couple ATVs,gas guzzeling crew cab PUs just to ride to the coffee shop in.

[Rmplstlskn]

I have a brother in No. GA, in the north burbs of Atlanta, but for him, because he is in the "working organs" of the Corporate Beast, rather than in the fat cells being shed by these huge beasts, he is living well and pulling in low 6 digits... But if it were not for his 20 years of free "very specialized" education paid for by our military, he would probably be fighting for mere existence like so many others... I'm happy for him, even if he remains clueless... Buying a huge RV, a truck to pull it, a pontoon boat, hitting Lake Lanier at least one a month, etc...

My observations: The only people really holding it together without cutting back are those in huge corporate beasts, government, military, or those with highly specialized skills and education that are in high demand, or... those who have already raped the system and are now living on that fleecing...

When it all "comes home to roost," it will be unlike anything humanity has ever seen...

Rmpl