As the GFC or GEC - the new acronyms for global financial and global economic crisis - continue to gather pace, sad to say that so many people around the globe are literally seeing the world collapse around them. The effect has been felt in just about sphere of activity and level of employment.
Take this morning's ABC Radio's Correspondent's Report which recorded the case of a 90 year old [yes, you read correcty!] in California working at a supermarket for US$10 an hour packing groceries because his life-savings of US$700,000 had been entirely lost through the company in which he had invested having in turn invested with über rogue Bernie Madoff.
The NY Times, in a piece today "Forced From Executive Pay to Hourly Wage", also paints a graphic picture of how the economic fallout has been so dramatic:
"Mark Cooper started his work day on a recent morning cleaning the door handles of an office building with a rag, vigorously shaking out a rug at a back entrance and pushing a dust mop down a long hallway.
Nine months ago he lost his job as the security manager for the western United States for a Fortune 500 company, overseeing a budget of $1.2 million and earning about $70,000 a year. Now he is grateful for the $12 an hour he makes in what is known in unemployment circles as a “survival job” at a friend’s janitorial services company. But that does not make the work any easier.
“You’re fighting despair, discouragement, depression every day,” Mr. Cooper said.
Working five days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mr. Cooper is not counted by traditional measures as among the recession’s casualties at this point. But his tumble down the economic ladder is among the more disquieting and often hidden aspects of the downturn.
It is not clear how many professionals like Mr. Cooper have taken on these types of lower-paying jobs, which are themselves in short supply. Many are doing their best to hold out as long as possible on unemployment benefits and savings while still looking for work in their fields."
Take this morning's ABC Radio's Correspondent's Report which recorded the case of a 90 year old [yes, you read correcty!] in California working at a supermarket for US$10 an hour packing groceries because his life-savings of US$700,000 had been entirely lost through the company in which he had invested having in turn invested with über rogue Bernie Madoff.
The NY Times, in a piece today "Forced From Executive Pay to Hourly Wage", also paints a graphic picture of how the economic fallout has been so dramatic:
"Mark Cooper started his work day on a recent morning cleaning the door handles of an office building with a rag, vigorously shaking out a rug at a back entrance and pushing a dust mop down a long hallway.
Nine months ago he lost his job as the security manager for the western United States for a Fortune 500 company, overseeing a budget of $1.2 million and earning about $70,000 a year. Now he is grateful for the $12 an hour he makes in what is known in unemployment circles as a “survival job” at a friend’s janitorial services company. But that does not make the work any easier.
“You’re fighting despair, discouragement, depression every day,” Mr. Cooper said.
Working five days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mr. Cooper is not counted by traditional measures as among the recession’s casualties at this point. But his tumble down the economic ladder is among the more disquieting and often hidden aspects of the downturn.
It is not clear how many professionals like Mr. Cooper have taken on these types of lower-paying jobs, which are themselves in short supply. Many are doing their best to hold out as long as possible on unemployment benefits and savings while still looking for work in their fields."
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