Earthquake + Hurricane = More Stress

All the way up and down the Atlantic Seaboard (and beyond), Mother Nature decided to add a plethora of new stresses to the bad global economy, record breaking unemployment, unstable stock market, indecisive government leadership, etc.

First, there was the earthquake which shook most everyone from the Midwest to Canada. It caught me typing an email in my office and I really thought I was having a heart attack until I noticed the walls, my phone, computer, bookcase were all having heart attacks too! Unfortunately, what was already shaping up as a slow week in the recruiting business got even slower once the quake took placed.

The second stress of the week came about a day later when all weather forecasters (including an old high school friend at the Weather Channel) began painting a very bleak picture of the damage and destruction expected from Hurricane Irene. As someone who lived in the town that was the center of Hurricane Floyd almost 12 years ago, this left a huge lump in my stomach. Now living in a place that floods less but becomes an island, I started balancing the need to keep working with storm preparations. Unfortunately, Irene proved to be a very stubborn lady and did create hardships, some of which are still unfolding due to river and stream flooding at rates never seen over the past 500 years in many places.

A third stress actually took on two prongs. For many like me, there was the inability to start the work week on Monday, the day after the storm because roads were either flooded or covered with downed trees and power lines. In North Jersey, part of Route 287 actually fell into the Rockaway River, causing stress for thousands of commuters including my wife. For too many others, they woke up in shelters, neighbors' spare rooms, or trapped in their own homes and now face the ugly task of cleaning up and rebuilding their homes and livelihoods.

During stable times, this would be a daunting challenge to everyone who was impacted in some way. Today, this is even tougher to swallow. So many folks are either unemployed or underemployed that they do not have money sitting in savings to help get repairs going until their insurance carriers or FEMA come to their aid. I just heard that President Obama will have to find money to fund FEMA as they do not have enough funds to finish repairs from Hurricane Katrina. That was SIX YEARS AGO and we still do not have money to close that book! Many more people will undoubtedly lose jobs, at least short term, when companies are forced to close doors while awaiting loans to rebuild from storm damage.

I wish I could provide some sound advice. The best I could offer right about now comes from the fact that if you are able to read this article you are most likely safe and sound. If you, your friends, and family are alive and well, you have overcome the first hurdle. Start prioritizing your needs, one by one, and do not try to recover completely in rapid speed. Just like a diet, the best way to recover is step-by-step so you do not fall backwards. Do not pay for services that seem overpriced. Do not accept offers of temp jobs payable in cash that may never show up. Continue on the path you already carved out before the crazy events of the past week, albeit with a few extra hurdles to overcome.

My best wishes go out to everyone as we all try to gain strength from a very bad stretch!

Marching Right Along?????

February showed a little positive energy until the last week or so and splat, we are back into doldrums again. Could it simply be that our economy is still struggling to recover even though certain politicians and media types are calling this period post-recession? Perhaps the unrest in the oil producing countries which has created absurd fuel prices here is at fault (President Obama, time to start pumping some of our huge reserves into the system). Do you think the rather unorthodox governors in states like Wisconsin and NJ are actually stunting the economy? Maybe the impending lockout of players by NFL ownership is at fault. The whole Madoff mess obviously has not been forgotten either.

Whatever the cause is, I would really like to see some level of stability in our employment market and the economy overall. Feel free to share your thoughts at any time!

Mid-point Review

President Obama has reached the halfway point of his term. I am not sure how to rate him so far. Jobs have not been created at the rate he promised and our health care system is growing into a bigger mess yet interest rates are making it easier to buy property, car prices are relatively low, and retail businesses generally seem a little livelier than a few years back. Yet, many manufacturing companies have failed, restaurants are folding, and cost of gasoline is way out of control. Please share your thoughts on the first 2 years.

Interesting Day

President Obama had some meetings scheduled for NYC tonight. Before heading into Manhattan, he took a side trip to the famed Tastee Subs in Edison NJ, one of the most well known yet nondescript eateries in Central NJ. He met with several small business owners for a brief time to discuss how his new bills would help struggling companies rebound. Selecting Tastee did not make a lot of sense as they have provided their employees with health care for decades and have thrived ever since their inception in 1963 and are busier than ever. Perhaps the White House thought the very shabby building would represent the scores of failing businesses across the nation but this is probably one of the most successful small businesses in the area stationed at one of the busiest intersections! Let's just hope that the end result will be prosperity for all small business owners and additional jobs to help fix the economy!

Stimulus??

Almost two years ago we heard grand plans for stimulating the economy with thousands of new jobs. Money was supposed to flow to employers and projects were to be funded to get people back to work. It seems to me that little or nothing has changed for the better. President Obama has not kept his word as far as I can tell. I would love to hear from anyone who believes their lives were improved by stimulus money. Start sending in those life changing stories today!

P.S. If you live in a state where the governor has improved the job market, send me proof of that too!