About Life and Economy

Since moving to Vegas and finding employment with a law firm, I've found myself contemplating the fortunes and misfortunes of my short life. There have been times, especially early in our marriage, where I wondered how we would ever make enough money to buy a house. Heck, there were many months when I wondered how we would pay rent or buy food (fortunately, most of this period coincided with 1$ Whoppers at Burger King). I loved school, and was mostly a good student, but it was clear to me as an undergraduate that I didn't really possess any particular job skill. This led to quite a bit of uncertainty and worry.

Now, while we are a long ways from being rich or even buying a house, their is at least a clear path to follow. Instead of wondering if we will be able to afford car insurance this month, I worry that we have no savings for M's college. It is not lost on me, however, that I managed to define a path at the same time that many people who were similarly prepared and qualified feel like they have fallen off the path. I can't count how many people I know who have graduated recently with undergraduate degrees, master's degrees, or professional degrees who are still looking for work. On top of that, I know many people who graduated a year or two ago and have been laid off since. I know still more people who are preparing to graduate and finding that either their are fewer jobs or jobs pay less than anticipated. The later becomes a problem for people who have incurred debt at professional schools where employment at a certain rate was reasonably expected.

For all of the people, both those I know and those I don't, who are worried about the immediate and longer-term future, I have no advice for you. Frankly, you are all following all of the advice I have ever been given or that I would give: get an education, gain experience, work hard, study hard, etc. You've done it the right way. Furthermore, I'm not in a position to give advice (which might be why nobody is asking me for it!). There is no substantive difference between those people who have managed to find jobs and those who haven't. I honestly don't know why some have jobs and some don't. Assuming you're out there hustling, this is just a bad time to be a recent grad.

Whatever the current situation, the long-term outlook is better for the prepared than the unprepared. Things will turn around, probably soon. Maybe you are excited about Obama, maybe you think the country will be Pinko, maybe you wish Bush was still President. I don't think it is going to matter. Have you met many Americans? Most of the movers-and-shakers I know aren't the kind to let much keep them from rising.

I guess I'm not sure what I mean to say or to who I want to say it to. I just remember wondering if things would ever work out for us (and still worry that things will keep working out), and hope everyone is able to keep perspective. My anxiety might have hit an all time high when I was looking for a job and going to law school, and I imagine it would have gotten worse if I had graduated and still been looking. I honestly think our generation will look back on this in 15 years, cringe at all the anxiety we felt, and then go back to telling our employees to work harder. Assuming the satellite phones on our yachts get service that far south . . .