Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always like it the least.
‹Earl of Chesterfield›
Atlantis: the domain of the Stingray
11May
2005
Wed
15:31
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
comments: 0
trackbacks: 0

A Job (or two) I Don't and Wouldn't Want

Airlines have it tough. United is trying to crawl out from under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Delta is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. American Airlines has been in financial trouble (I don't know their current state of bankruptcy); they even bought out Trans World Airlines—an airline itself on the verge of collapse at the time. It seems only the regional and budget carriers are doing well.

That being said, I wouldn't want a job in the airline industry, any part of it. From ticket counter to baggage handler to pilot, knowing that the company I would work for is having problems making ends meet because prices are too high is not something I would want to be a part of. Why? Well, my income is at stake, and not necessary what I'm being paid while I work for them, but also retirements and pensions. United Airlines has won the right to abandon four of their pension plans. So, for their employees, it's tough luck when they retire.

Now, I can't blame the airlines for doing stuff like this. The prices for the stuff they need to provide their service are skyrocketing. Those prices are, of course, handed down to their consumers. That, in turn, makes flying too expensive for most everybody. So, they don't sell as many tickets. Revenue is dow—costs are up; bankruptcy is inevitable.

Of course, that seems to be the way things are going these days. The prices for everything seem to be going up because it all goes back to the price for oil. As the oil prices increase, the price for everything else increases, because it costs more to deliver those items to the consumer, so the consumer absorbs the higher costs. Also, as those prices increase, the income of the consumer doesn't, because the increase in income of the companies is used to offset the price of fuel that the company uses. I hate to sound like a whistleblower or alarmist, but if this trend continues and grows, I see another economic depression heading our way (and it doesn't matter who's in the presidential office, unless they can curtail this "inflation.") Now, I'm no financial expert or economic genious, and I can even see that I'm simplifying things, but I must be correct in at least some of my observations here.

Owell, time will tell...

Have something to say about this entry? Submit your comment below.
name:
email:
web:
Give me a cookie and remember my personal info.
Hide my email address.
Type the correct answer: They are going to get they're / there / their reward.

This is a simple question designed to prevent spambots from spamming the site.

your comment(s):
[ Emoticons ]
Small print: All html tags except <b> and <i> will be removed from your comment. You can make links by just typing the url or mail-address.