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Downturn.

We have one part-time job opening at the co-op. It is for an assistant in the Produce Department and pays about $8.50 an hour. The hours are pretty strict and involve almost every weekend.

Today alone we received more than 20 applications for the job. They came by email, they walked in the door. The applicants ranged from students to middle-aged women to men who looked they would be supporting a family to just one guy who looked like a bum.

In the year that I've been working at the co-op, we've had many, many positions open. Cashiers tend to be students and they come and go seasonally. The Deli always has openings, just about. Other positions have been open and filled several times as well. Just a few weeks ago, even, a full-time Produce position was filled in-house after almost no qualified applicants applied (and by "qualified" here I mean not smelling like alcohol, not having an obvious mental condition, etc.--in other words, the standards aren't the highest--we just need someone decent who can do the job...).

We have never seen a day like today. 20 applications in one day. It says something about the current economy, methinks. Some of our major employers have announced large layoffs in the last couple of weeks. People are scared. They're applying for any job they can, and certainly working at the co-op is a decent, if low-paying, place to work.

If you have some time to read and are concerned about the U.S. economy, Sharon over at Casaubon's book and, at her new blog, DepletionAbundance, has linked two articles comparing the Russian collapse to a possible U.S. one. Many of you may hate this stuff and think it's ridiculous. I find it fascinating, frightening, but also encouraging because the Russian people did largely survive just fine. Since I was a teen-ager, I've felt that in my lifetime we'd see an end to the luxuries of American economics. Who knows if I'm right, or if all the other "Doomsayers" are onto something, but it's an interesting read anyways...Here are the links: http://www.survivingpeakoil.com/article.php?id=soviet_lessons and http://www.survivingpeakoil.com/article.php?id=our_village.

Amazingly, we just happen to be having Borscht for dinner tonight! George put it in the crock-pot this morning. Viva la Russia! (can you say that?)

Lisa

Comments

Jennifer said…
Mmm... I love Borscht! I'm not too worried... my husband will always have a job as a teacher, and we have no debt. We can live off of his income if need be... it is encouraging to see that yes, in fact, the Russians HAVE survived.

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