The financial advisers who keep on talking with people how to invest their money in 401ks and other investment vehicles always emphasize that we should have a diversified portfolio and we should have save enough money in case of emergency but I have not heard anyone saying that do they have a back up plan in case of unemployment (other than saving and sending out resumes). Most of us indeed do not have a plan B working in case we get laid off and we are living pay check to pay check and believe me it is no fun (been there, done that).
Most of the people just pray that they do not get laid off and if they do then they should be able to job fast enough so that the bills not pile up. But if praying can work without doing something to make it happen then what is the use of praying. A plan of action is lacking in overwhelming majority of households and even with this economy it is no surprise that again there is no plan B like two jobs in case you lose one you can count on the other one or just plain having a small sole proprietorship in place that you can at least be able to pay your bills. It is easy to advise on diversification in your investment portfolio when you are putting in money because of your job but how about having a back job at night or on the weekends and paying the bills out of that. You will need it since the precarious economic situation of our nation will extend by the age limit to 70 or more by the time we collect our social security checks (if we collect it in lesser value dollars).
Monday, October 18, 2010
A Nuclear-Weapons Free World?
Idealistic people are trying to get rid of the world of nuclear weapons and pressurizing the developed countries in the process but are it realistic to assume that if the nuclear armed countries go cold turkey, the rest of the hot spots with nuclear weapons would do the same. It is hard to be realistic because it is painful. Israel has undeclared nuclear weapons and Iran is pursuing them vigorously. Do you ever believe that Pakistan is going to give up nuclear weapons in the face of the more powerful India with bigger armed forces?
And then there is the case of North Korea, which still refuses to give up its nuclear arsenal and keeps on threatening the Korean Peninsula. Do you ever think that if the five declared nuclear powers give up their weapons that peace will break out instantly? Pakistan and North Korea are in a desperate situation and will not give up their nukes until everybody else (including India and Israel does) but even then they won’t give up because that is how they maintain their minimum deterrence against much larger foes. So unless we go back to some primitive time, the world is still going to be awash in nuclear weapons no matter what the declared intentions are on the contrary.
And then there is the case of North Korea, which still refuses to give up its nuclear arsenal and keeps on threatening the Korean Peninsula. Do you ever think that if the five declared nuclear powers give up their weapons that peace will break out instantly? Pakistan and North Korea are in a desperate situation and will not give up their nukes until everybody else (including India and Israel does) but even then they won’t give up because that is how they maintain their minimum deterrence against much larger foes. So unless we go back to some primitive time, the world is still going to be awash in nuclear weapons no matter what the declared intentions are on the contrary.
The resilience of the human spirit
The Chilean mine disaster that was going on the last two months came to close a few days ago with the rescue of all the 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months. It is the endurance of the human spirit that they were able to survive for such a long time underground. Although the details of the ordeal have started to emerge, it was not all tranquil down there, and it was to be expected. Any person who is healthy enough trapped for such a long period of time, will have some issues when rescued, but overall the dramatic rescue mission captured on the media screen and beamed around the world was itself a miracle.
What it shows you here is that once you have that human determination and will to survive and your time is not up, you can stand up to the elements of nature and endure. For me personally, I would not have been working in the mines anyway but if I were I don’t think so that I would be able to survive in that claustrophobic environment, but maybe I would have if I would have seen what is ahead of me in the future. Anyway I salute the miners for enduring such a long time trapped underground and also the rescuers for taking out all of them alive.
What it shows you here is that once you have that human determination and will to survive and your time is not up, you can stand up to the elements of nature and endure. For me personally, I would not have been working in the mines anyway but if I were I don’t think so that I would be able to survive in that claustrophobic environment, but maybe I would have if I would have seen what is ahead of me in the future. Anyway I salute the miners for enduring such a long time trapped underground and also the rescuers for taking out all of them alive.
Are Green jobs the answer to unemployment?
For quite some time, we have been hearing about how the green jobs are the next big jobs thing and that the America can benefit from largely since we will become pioneer in doing this first. But as with all the other things, we were the pioneer but the prohibitive cost of doing business has become clear when a news report came out the Chinese, with the enormous economies of scale, huge government subsidies and their clear intentions to dominate the market in the future have made the green jobs market their number one priority. In this case, the solar panels that they are making have become installing in the United States; even though some companies here are also making it but the expensive labor and cost realities have led them to outsource their work to China.
We can still make progressive in this case, but to put too much emphasis on it without realizing that we are not the only player in town will help tremendously and government subsidies would not hurt either. We need to set our priorities straight and know where we need to invest and where we need to pull back and let others do what they do best and benefit from it. Green jobs are not going to come overnight and transform our economy right away. In addition to green jobs, we need to put more manufacturing jobs here with less regulation and red tape and more incentives so there is a balance between high tech and the traditional manufacturing jobs.
We can still make progressive in this case, but to put too much emphasis on it without realizing that we are not the only player in town will help tremendously and government subsidies would not hurt either. We need to set our priorities straight and know where we need to invest and where we need to pull back and let others do what they do best and benefit from it. Green jobs are not going to come overnight and transform our economy right away. In addition to green jobs, we need to put more manufacturing jobs here with less regulation and red tape and more incentives so there is a balance between high tech and the traditional manufacturing jobs.
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