I Have A Full-Time Job!

No idea. I didn't get a cent of it. Plus there was a moratorium on evictions so a ton of people weren't even paying rent. I really don't see why people don't have money. Either your job stayed open and you worked like normal, or you got laid off and got a ton of free money.

Lol. It's nothing crazy. I wanted to build a new PC last year and the graphics card I wanted is supposed to retail at $700. But there's a worldwide shortage on the chips that power all electronics, so that same card is going for like $2000 instead. Same reason why it's so hard to get a new car or a PS5 or the new Xbox or anything electronic. And I'm really just not willing to pay that much over the actual retail price. I'll just wait for it to cool down if it ever does. My PC now is still fine but it's showing its age a bit.

Freeloaders just wanted not to pay rent. It was not even supposed to be like that. I mean just because you cannot be evicted does not mean you just stop paying rent. Do they not realize that a lot of landlords are private owners and that is there means of income? And now that most of the moratorium have ended or are ending, those people still owe back rents. Of course, they will not pay, get evicted, and then move somewhere else. Some people these days are just so lazy and looking for a loophole.

You lost me at graphic card, twin. XD

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Nov 15th 2021 »

I was fortunate enough to continue working from home on SuperCheats during the Covid lockdown so I was basically unaffected. However, it does seem unfair when I see people staying at home doing nothing and still getting paid, sometimes more than what they would have got anyway.

I had no idea there was a global chip crisis, that's news to me.

I read an article on the internet the other day about how people regret overspending during Covid lockdown time on items to entertain themselves. Like Warrior13 says, you'd think people would have been trying to save money with all the uncertainty.

Yeah, supposedly the people that haven't been paying rent are going to have to pay back the whole chunk they owe all at once. Yeah right. I'm not against people getting some help but for many it seems like they used it as an excuse to do nothing. I'm lucky enough to work from home too but it does feel unfair when I could've been maybe making more not working at all. Whatever.

Though I have been hearing from people that do interviews that candidates who have a 2+ year gap on their resume and no explanation for it are getting laughed out the door, so I guess what goes around comes around.

Yeah, I mainly work from home anyway so I had to keep working. I actually had loads of overtime because I do the billing for geriatric psychiatry, and we had to learn how to bill properly for online visits. Come to think of it, I get paid so well that I doubt I would have made more doing nothing. Close probably, but I would rather have the extra while knowing I earned it.

Q: So why have you not worked in the last eighteen months.
A: Because of Covid.
Q: But our lockdowns ended a year ago?
A: Uhh?

Yeah, you basically are telling an employer uz lazy.

Just the other week I was talking to this friend of my uncle that does some kind of security for Lockheed Martin, and he said they would do interviews and the person hasn't worked this whole time. They get asked why, the person says "I got laid off of my old job", the interview says "that was 18 months ago", the candidate just stares at them. They end the interview right there. This guy said they've had a half dozen interviews go like that. And this is for a decent entry level job with a government contractor, not some dishwasher or gas attendant job.

Man, some people these days. You would think one would have the gall to admit they were making more doing nothing so they chose to do nothing. But I get not saying anything because you look just as bad. Any employer knows what they chose to do.

Are any states still shelling out the extra funds? I know two or three states still have the eviction moratorium in effect, but the extra unemployment ended everywhere in September right?

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Nov 16th 2021 »

I don't think so. I know NJ stopped in September and had I think had reduced it to something a little lower before that. But I'm not 100% on that because I'm not close with anyone that received it for very long. A cousin was laid off for a couple months and some friends for a week or two but I don't know anyone that got it longer than that.

How are these people going to suddenly survive with those funds taken away, it must be causing chaos as they can't all have jobs to return to as some of those jobs no longer exist, wiped out by Covid.

There are actually quite a few job openings here in the US, and that's after so many businesses went under due to Covid. To tell you the truth, most areas still have an employment shortage. Up until when the extra unemployment given deadline expired, no one was really looking for a job. Those that worked through Covid continued to do so while those that didn't continued not to work. Even months after unemployment rates dropping back to what they were, many businesses remain in constant need for workers. I'm not sure if some people that got the extra money saved enough to remain at home for even longer or if people would rather make less not working if it means they can be lazy. My father (restaurant district manager) has seen even more turnover in employees after the deadline expired than before Covid; it must come as a shock to most to be paid less to work than not having to for over a year.

I think a lot of people are under the impression that the government will just take care of them until they get that "better" job than what they had before. A lot of the people not working and thus most of the open positions are in the service industry where the wages are pretty low. Almost every restaurant around me has wanted signs up and a lot of them were forced to shorten their hours because they can't find help. At least, they can't find help at the wages they paid pre-covid. A lot of the people that received those extra funds now feel like they deserve those much higher wages for the same work they did before. Some of it is women with young kids who stopped working and pulled their kids out of daycare and now figure there is no point working if her entire wage is going towards daycare costs - she might as well stay home.

There's a whole separate conversation around any job paying a "living wage" and what the wage for these low-skill jobs like dishwasher should really be and the effect that what have on small businesses.

Yeah, it must be hard getting free money each week and then suddenly having to go to work for less. It's a demoralizing thought. Covid is on the rise again in the UK and Europe, everyone has been told there will be no payouts from the government this time. I think those low paid vacancies will be filled...

I think so too, eventually. It's hard making $13 an hour as a dishwasher bringing home $420 a week when they brought home $1000 a week on unemployment. I sympathize with people in those situations but on the other hand the pay is commensurate with the skill required for the job. The fact is a lot of these jobs just need a warm body.

That is why the government should have never given that much. They could easily have just paid people what they had been making on average. This would have helped mend the tide while giving them initiative to return immediately when it dropped again. You cannot expect to make more for doing the same thing, that is insanity.

Well, really that is the whole concept of a "raise" ;) But I know what you mean. It feels a bit entitled. There's been a real pushback at least online in recent years in that you aren't allowed to tell anyone to get a "Real Job" anymore and that all jobs are valid and need to be paid X amount of money. And to me in some cases where a person is incapable of doing more or can't learn anything else that is okay but in the vast majority of cases it just reeks of laziness to me.

Are you sure people were getting $1000 a week from the government? That's 4K a month, if their spouse was getting the same that's 8k a month coming into the household. There must of been a lot of people out there that didn't want Covid to end, no wonder the US had trouble getting people to comply with the safety measures. In the UK the amount people recieved was a lot less, they got paid 80% of their wages.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Nov 17th 2021 »

It was normal unemployment (which is 60% of your former wages in my state) plus an additional $600 per week. So if you previously made $500 a week working normally, you would get $300 from normal unemployment plus an extra $600 covid benefit for a total of $900 per week. After the $600 federal benefit expired they reduced it to $300 per week which expired in September. You're correct in your assessment that some households were bringing in that amount of money. But remember that all of this extra money needs to be claimed and tax needs to be paid on it, so the actual net income is quite a bit less (roughly 30% less).

Also, 6-8k per month is certainly livable but not lavish in a lot of the country, especially the coasts. Cost of living where I am is outrageous. My brother brings in about 8k monthly post-tax and he lives in a small college town and rents an apartment with his girlfriend and he is doing really well and not struggling in the least, but actually buying a house is not really feasible for them in this market. If you've got rent, a car payment, car insurance, electric, gas, internet, grocery bills, plus saving and investing it runs out quick. You know all that though. I'm sure if we moved away from the coast from what I've seen expenses would be about a third of what they are here. I just live in a top-5 most expensive state.

« Last edited by steelersrock01 on Nov 18th 2021 »

Dennis: Yes, as crazy as it may sound, Mike is right. The government here in the US went WAY overboard, and people abused it for as long as they can.

Mike: I've only gotten raises when I took on additional responsibilities. ;) :( lol

Yeah, same. I do think everyone should be getting a cost of living raise every year to keep up with inflation. This year with inflation at 6.5% if you didn't get that much as a raise you pretty much got a pay cut.

My dad has been retired as a state employee for 15 years now and has only gotten the "promised" yearly cost of living pension increase one time.

I think that would jeopardize many small businesses. There are just so many spectrums to consider when it comes to raises or uping the minimum wage.