WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
Trumpmas: How Good Is the Economy?
byVanderleunonDecember 21, 2019
If you’ve been paying attention you’ve noticed that this Christmas season is not like recent Christmas seasons. It’s better. Much better.*** How much better? Well, I was wandering through the World Market last week knocking off the last of my list and I came across this display front and center in the store devouring Christmas section:
Yes, the country is doing so well that simple gingerbread houses can no longer contain our oh-so-terribly materialistic Christmas. Now we both need and will finance gingerbread estates. What can I say? We’re an optimistic nation.
***“The Czar knows a lot of people in all walks of life; for example, he happens to know a handful of professional recruiters—who do not (as far as he is aware) have any knowledge of the other. Two, in particular, say similar things: unemployment is ridiculously low.
“One of these recruiters despises the economy; as a partner in a recruiting firm, he is seeing his revenues plummet to historic lows because he can’t find good candidates. Many of his clients are long-done with trying to find CEOs and CFOs: he’s desperately trying to find forklift drivers and mail-room workers. There are none to be found. He told us that he joked to a business owner that perhaps the candidates would need to be “active felons,” to which the owner shrugged and asked if he could manage that. The owner was serious.” — It’s Still the Economy, Stupid – The Gormogons
Where da gingerbread McMansion iz? The one wif 9 garages.
VanderleunDecember 21, 2019, 9:58 AM
Under that tree yer out of.
Gordon ScottDecember 22, 2019, 5:54 AM
One guy I know who used to be a long-haul trucker tells me that no independent can make money any more driving long-haul because the Mexicans have bid down the prices so much. He says one can still do okay on the shorter or local runs, but he has to work a lot harder to find those.
Retail stores are hiring people that would have been utterly rejected 15 years ago. Of course, the mass-market self-service retail store is dying fast anyway. If the police will not respond to shoplifter calls, or the county attorney will not prosecute them, and employees get fired for confronting the thieves, then theft will skyrocket. And it is, around here. The new Amazon no-cashier store will be the model; you enter and opens the app, which is tied to your charge card. Then you just go around the store, pick what you want, and leave. Cameras and RFID combine and the system knows exactly what you take, and what you put back.
I was talking to an assistant drug store manager last night. He used to work in a store that was like a zoo; a customer would ask to see a pre-paid cell phone, and the employee had to hold it in both hands firmly, and even then a guy might yank it free and run out the door. The pharmacy made money, which covered the sales floor losses for a good while, but eventually the theft got too bad, and the company couldn’t find anyone decent to work in that store. Now he’s in a store that is a bit better, but it is still a constant battle against the thieves and the deranged. I told him that PTSD was a real possibility for him. He laughed, skeptically, for a second, then he nodded.
NoriDecember 22, 2019, 6:05 AM
What a delightful pre-Christmas present the Gormogons are!
The sidebar advocacy for the imprisonment of Esperanto speakers is a refreshing bit of common sense.
Gary in TexasDecember 22, 2019, 6:59 AM
The job recruiters are hoping for more illegals. This is just another ploy by the Chamber of Commerce crowd.
ghostsniperDecember 22, 2019, 1:33 PM
Welp, if you want to survive in this economy, regardless of what you see on teevee you better learn how to work for yourself. Do some work, collect the money, then do with it as you please. No, you do not have an obligation to surrender the efforts of your toil just because. Awhile back I installed 2 new garage doors for someone cause I like putting BIG jigsaw puzzles and the owner was wanting to give me $150 each to assemble 2 puzzles for them.While the bigger pieces required some effort most of it was mental and just plain enjoyable. Now who doesn’t like to have fun AND get paid for it? AND, keep all of it.
Next time you go for your daily neighborhood stroll, if you see a neighbor, stop and chat and casually mention how you had just completed a task on your crib (rewire a kitchen light fixture, installa ceiling fan, replace some worn deck boards, etc.) and how it was much easier than you had anticipated. This is called “fishin”. You planted a seed that may sprout and grow, never can tell. That neighbor now knows you are handy with tools and effort and may call on you to do something they are unable, or unwilling, to do. For coin. Coin that only you and the payer know about. hint hint (don’t make me spell it out) Maybe that neighbor knows of someone else that could use your service. He can’t refer you unless he knows you are referrable and capable.
If you do some work for someone, keep your eyes peeled when on the site for other things that may need doing that the property owner may be unaware of. Dead trees that need to come down, leaking gutters, crooked window shutters, etc. Simple stuff that can be a PITA to people not used to doing that kind of thing. Maybe the owners kitchen lamp is slammed with bugs and they don’t have a ladder, but you do. Do em a favor, and they will feel beholdin’ to you but you just pay it no nevermind and chalk it up to “effort escrow” that may dividends in the future. It’s always better to DO more favors than you ASK for. Kinda like money in the conscience bank.
D S CraftDecember 23, 2019, 6:57 PM
The wife and her daughter do all the Christmas shopping here in San Diego. They’re telling me the stores are packed. Long lines to buy, longer lines to find parking. People seem to have money to spend and are spending it. That’s a good sign. Of course, here in California Trump will get zero credit for the economy, but it’s still a good sign that people seem optimistic.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Where da gingerbread McMansion iz? The one wif 9 garages.
Under that tree yer out of.
One guy I know who used to be a long-haul trucker tells me that no independent can make money any more driving long-haul because the Mexicans have bid down the prices so much. He says one can still do okay on the shorter or local runs, but he has to work a lot harder to find those.
Retail stores are hiring people that would have been utterly rejected 15 years ago. Of course, the mass-market self-service retail store is dying fast anyway. If the police will not respond to shoplifter calls, or the county attorney will not prosecute them, and employees get fired for confronting the thieves, then theft will skyrocket. And it is, around here. The new Amazon no-cashier store will be the model; you enter and opens the app, which is tied to your charge card. Then you just go around the store, pick what you want, and leave. Cameras and RFID combine and the system knows exactly what you take, and what you put back.
I was talking to an assistant drug store manager last night. He used to work in a store that was like a zoo; a customer would ask to see a pre-paid cell phone, and the employee had to hold it in both hands firmly, and even then a guy might yank it free and run out the door. The pharmacy made money, which covered the sales floor losses for a good while, but eventually the theft got too bad, and the company couldn’t find anyone decent to work in that store. Now he’s in a store that is a bit better, but it is still a constant battle against the thieves and the deranged. I told him that PTSD was a real possibility for him. He laughed, skeptically, for a second, then he nodded.
What a delightful pre-Christmas present the Gormogons are!
The sidebar advocacy for the imprisonment of Esperanto speakers is a refreshing bit of common sense.
The job recruiters are hoping for more illegals. This is just another ploy by the Chamber of Commerce crowd.
Welp, if you want to survive in this economy, regardless of what you see on teevee you better learn how to work for yourself. Do some work, collect the money, then do with it as you please. No, you do not have an obligation to surrender the efforts of your toil just because. Awhile back I installed 2 new garage doors for someone cause I like putting BIG jigsaw puzzles and the owner was wanting to give me $150 each to assemble 2 puzzles for them.While the bigger pieces required some effort most of it was mental and just plain enjoyable. Now who doesn’t like to have fun AND get paid for it? AND, keep all of it.
Next time you go for your daily neighborhood stroll, if you see a neighbor, stop and chat and casually mention how you had just completed a task on your crib (rewire a kitchen light fixture, installa ceiling fan, replace some worn deck boards, etc.) and how it was much easier than you had anticipated. This is called “fishin”. You planted a seed that may sprout and grow, never can tell. That neighbor now knows you are handy with tools and effort and may call on you to do something they are unable, or unwilling, to do. For coin. Coin that only you and the payer know about. hint hint (don’t make me spell it out) Maybe that neighbor knows of someone else that could use your service. He can’t refer you unless he knows you are referrable and capable.
If you do some work for someone, keep your eyes peeled when on the site for other things that may need doing that the property owner may be unaware of. Dead trees that need to come down, leaking gutters, crooked window shutters, etc. Simple stuff that can be a PITA to people not used to doing that kind of thing. Maybe the owners kitchen lamp is slammed with bugs and they don’t have a ladder, but you do. Do em a favor, and they will feel beholdin’ to you but you just pay it no nevermind and chalk it up to “effort escrow” that may dividends in the future. It’s always better to DO more favors than you ASK for. Kinda like money in the conscience bank.
The wife and her daughter do all the Christmas shopping here in San Diego. They’re telling me the stores are packed. Long lines to buy, longer lines to find parking. People seem to have money to spend and are spending it. That’s a good sign. Of course, here in California Trump will get zero credit for the economy, but it’s still a good sign that people seem optimistic.