Sorry in advance for the lengthy post. Sometimes I make a post where I'm just thinking by typing. I know that most people are kept in the dark by the media and that it takes a certain kind of person to see beyond the mainstream narrative. But lately it seems like we've entered a truly dark and bizarre time and that most people, even some on our side, aren't aware of the gravity of the situation that we're ALREADY IN. My examples may seem minor, but when you consider what's behind them, they're a sign of a much scarier problem.
I was talking with my husband the other day about the fact that no restaurants in our immediate area are open for dinner anymore. We recently chatted with the owner of a diner we like in our town, and she said that they barely have enough employees to operate for breakfast and lunch, and that they can no longer get anyone to work at night. This all changed during the original 2020 lockdowns, of course, and never went back to normal. All the workers in her kitchen that day were white. (I make this point for a reason to come.)
And it's the same across our entire region. Even restaurants that are popular and busy and located in touristy areas are struggling to stay open for all their shifts. Smaller places are only open until one or two in the afternoon.
It's the same across retail. Stores are always operating on a skeleton crew and have signs up that they're hiring all the time.
I went to a county job fair recently and accepted a position. I was one of two people at the fair when I went. And there were dozens of jobs available with this employer. Since it's with the county, the benefits are good and these jobs would have been in high demand at one point. But they were practically begging me to work there, when just a few years ago, I would have been the one trying to sell my skills to them. No longer.
At my husband's job, they're having to hire people from other states to come and work because no one in the area is applying for jobs, and they're constantly understaffed and behind on projects because of it.
But when you hear the news, they say that employment rates are great under Biden. Other news sources say that many people are working two or more jobs now to make ends meet. Then you hear people talking about how no one is working anymore, despite the fact that inflation is skyrocketing and food and rent are damn near impossible to cover now for most middle-class people. None of this adds up, of course.
The creepiest thing, though, is that my husband's aunt recently lost her father. He was 99 and had dementia, so it was expected. However, the family told us this week that he won't be cremated until February because the funeral home has a waitlist for cremations. Why? "Oh, they're just really busy this time of year because of the flu and all." Yeah. That makes sense. Totally normal.
So, a lot of people think that mass deaths of the vaccinated are coming, but I think that we're already there and that the media is doing everything possible to ignore the problem. I don't think that this entirely explains the lack of interest in jobs, though. I tend to think that there is a mass depression event happening among Americans, particularly young ones who were told of a certain American dream that ain't never happening for them. They'd rather take side jobs delivering packages or groceries than get a full-time job or career because they just can't face the world and what modern American adulthood means today. Whatever the case may be, the reality of the NOW is bleak.
Side note. We hear of these loads of illegals coming every day. It used to be that you'd see Mexicans working in kitchens and dish rooms at pretty much every restaurant, but now, at least where I live, you never see that. Is all this hype about illegals also a lie? Where are THEY getting the money to survive and pay for all their kids and family? Another example. We have a lot of Mexicans in our small town, but again, you never see them working in public places anymore. However, yesterday, we needed some chile peppers for a recipe so we stopped in a small local Mexican supermarket. The doors were locked. As we were driving away, the lady came running out and opened the doors for us, so we went in. She had the bare minimum available for sale and could barely speak English. The whole place was dirty and in disrepair. She kept complaining about being "so cold." She didn't sell peppers or any produce at all, but I felt bad for her so we bought a bag of chips. She only accepted cash, no cards at all, and yet her signs out front promoted sending money home to Mexico. It was just an odd experience. When we left, she locked the doors back. It felt like something out of an apocalyptic movie. This is not our America anymore.
Just thoughts I've been having lately. Nothing is as it seems. More than ever before, our minds are being manipulated on the daily, even by sources we may trust. All I know is that it's never been more important to get yourself prepared and to keep your health up. There was a story on Yahoo (lol) this morning saying that bread will become scarce this coming year (muh Ukraine war), as well as pet food and canned goods. If Yahoo is saying that, shit is getting real. I feel like we're entering a post-modern American hellscape movie and the sad thing is that very few people can see it or will ever admit it to themselves. Bread and circuses, dog and pony shows, muh racism and muh drag queen story hours, all as we careen off the cliff of our flimsy false Satanic reality. It's crashing down, and I wonder how many will choose to ever open their eyes again when we hit the ground.
Obviously there is no one reason that explains everything, and different areas will have different experiences.
But one big thing that I think many people don't realize is how many older people just said "Fuck it!" and retired early (or simply unplanned) during the pandemic.
Instead of dealing with HR demands to get vaxxed and masked, or because they were apprehensive about getting Covid themselves, or because they needed to help out family members who worked by taking care of their young children, or whatever reason, they just retired. And haven't gone back.
Remember that the Boomers are the largest generation. So when they retired, it opened up a hell of a lot of high and mid level jobs. So millions and millions of people upgraded their careers. So many of those jobs that are having difficulty finding hires are what's left over.
And once companies allowed employees to work remotely, it opened up another employment avenue that siphons off workers from retail and restaurants.
Then there are the non-traditional jobs that have come about mainly because of the pandemic. Personal grocery shoppers and errand runners are a couple of the most obvious.
I don't think it's necessarily that "no one wants to work anymore" than it is that the pandemic forced pretty much the entire population into re-examining what they're working for.
Priorities have changed. Personally, what I have noticed about many of the people I know is that they value their time and ability to do what they want, when they want more than they do having a large house, nicer cars, more stuff,etc...
I'm not saying they're slackers. They pay their bills, put money in savings, and are responsible human beings.
But they don't see the point in working to buy a bunch of stuff they don't want or need, and instead spend more time doing the things that are important to them.
Basically they've decided to stop being wage slaves. 🤷♀️
Edited to add: Take notice of the industries where employers are saying they can't find workers and that "no one wants to work anymore!".
It will be mostly restaurants, retail, and health care. These are some of the absolute shittiest jobs to have. Even before the pandemic, these industries were always looking for workers.
These are the jobs you get because you're either too young to know better and have no work experience (restaurants and retail) or because you want to help people (healthcare).
Those are the jobs that get ditched first when anything slightly better comes by.
And then look at age groups. To over simplify and over generalize it to the extreme;
Remember that Boomers were able to put themselves through college flipping burgers and are at the end of their working lives, and have the greatest freedom. They work because they want to and for socializing.
Xers paid for college with student loans and most have had things paid off for about 6 months now and are finally getting those better paying jobs Boomers are retiring from now.
Millineals paid for college with student loans that they're still paying off, along with hooking on the side, and the occasional sale of a kidney or other black market organ. They're delivering doordash and making YouTube videos.
Gen Z, well, bless your hearts, Gen Z. I really don't know what you're doing. But you'll probably be living with your GenX parents until they die.
I won't defend my industry/vocation (restaurant/chef), as you're mostly correct about the quality of staff that we must endure. Like everything else, though, it's all in what you put into it, and if you're lucky, you can separate the wheat from the cow shit and actually find bright people with a work ethic that is able to be encouraged by constant reinforcement and teaching/learning. In my case, it's high school kids, and I've run every dreg druggie, woke college moron, and whiny experienced slug out of my kitchen. I've always told every employer I've had that the first thing they must do is disregard the "title seeking" managers and look for those who have passion for what they do. The former types will always drag an operation into the mud, and will only seek C and D types ("warm bodies") to work for them.