anyone else got a wife/girlfriend who won't get a job

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by garchbrooks, Feb 11, 2010.

  1. She doesn't even try. Starting to make me upset, affecting my trading and job. Someone tell me it's just the economy.
     
  2. doesn't hooking on the side count?
     
  3. the only job i need is a blowjob! :D
     
  4. Lucrum

    Lucrum

    Stick a large magnet sign on the refrigerator:

    New House Rule

    You don't work, You don't eat!
     
  5. nitro

    nitro

    It is the economy.

    However, I will relate one experience that I had recently. I go to coffee shops quite a bit to program when I am not trading, and many of these are in book stores. As you can imagine, many of the people that frequent these places are educated, opinionated, intellectual, etc.

    Most of the conversations in these places are deep and interesting. One day I got into a conversation with a group of these people. Somehow it got around to what we do. I was shocked. Many of these people are unemployed, even on a part time basis. I carefully inquired as to why some of these people did not take any job. To make a long story short, and I could be wrong about this, most jobs are beneath these people. They would rather starve than work at MCD, or TGT, or tutoring kids, pizza delivery, delivering newspapers or whatever. Hell, volunteering at a soup kitchen is better than sitting at home idly watching "Jerry Springer or Days of our lives". It is always easier to get a job when you have one. It is not logical, but it is often true. Most of these people have tremendous skills that they could offer as a service to people that want them!

    The seven dealy sins:

    wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
     
  6. if they have such "tremendous skills" why are they unemployed? there is ALWAYS room for the "tremendously skilled".
    i submit to you that they have nothing more than average skills to offer in their field, despite your fascination with them and as such have difficulty competing in the job place against their stronger counterpart.
     
  7. I agree with some aspect of nitro's comments, but I agree with your assessment also. The skills that can be offered by someone with your typical, average college degree is not too far off from the skils that are offered by unskilled labor. I acknowledge this about my significant other, but can't really vocalize this in any manner that she'd truly grasp, because she is simply unaccustomed to thinking in terms of an edge. She thinks like most Americans do: get college educated, find opportunity, then work. This is why I reserve my anger, but I still don't understand why her lack of success in the job market doesn't translate into a change of behavior for her -- after all, I didn't think all that much different from her in my early 20s or as a teenager.

    We run around trading markets in search of edge. Why would the job market be any different? If the job market were as efficient as the e-mini ES contract, it would some some serious skills to come out ahead. With globalization, the only true reality is that the average person is confronted with a situation like trading a market as efficient as the S&P E-mini contract or SPY.

    Because I acknowledge her humanity, I can't throw her out into the cold or force realizations upon her. So, ultimately, I stay on the outside looking in wishing it would click for her.
     
  8. I agree Nitro,

    These people may be unemployed through their own fault. Even when they were working in their field they probably felt certain tasks were beneath them.
     
  9. jem

    jem

    I run into unemployed educated people with skills almost daily. The problem is structural. Many of the people who were making six figures will never make that much again. We just do not need so many Realtors, real estate lawyers, mortgage guys, luxury car dealerships, bank employees, stock brokers, wall street middle men etc. Western economies had far too many people employed in high paying service jobs... which no longer exist and are not coming back.

    We are going to eventually realize most of the 90s GDP expansion around the world was based on cheap money put at risk by fake insurance. That economy created a misallocation of resources including a misallocation of brain power.

    Absent new technology we are going to have a lost generation or two of people who once made a lot of money. Some will adjust and take lower paying jobs and some will be a mess.

    The world does not need as many educated intelligent people working in financial fields supporting over priced assets.

    When the govts cease spending trillions - buying under priced mortgages and supporting zombie banks... Real estate prices will come down. Peoples expectations of what they need to make will go down. We will then begin to restructure.

    Western economies are going to have to make choices between sharing the misery with social programs, inflation and stagnant or declining economies or cold hard decisions of real capitalism which would allow some to fall very far but lead to GDP growth.

    I remember Yogoslavia in the late 80s. At one tennis club they had 8 guys sweeping clay tennis courts in between matches. That was their government job. I swept tennis courts and cleaned the lines all by myself as a junior high school kid. I hope we have the balls to make choices that do not lead to 8 people doing the job of one 14 year old. But, I am not so sure. I suspect our governments are going to get larger and larger.
     

  10. She'll respond with magnet,

    "Rigid asshole no get humma-humma no more"

    he shoulda had this from day 1 ...

    [​IMG]
     
    #10     Feb 14, 2010