The Recession is Over. Now the Real Work Begins

Economics is funny. According to the economics, the recession, which started in late 2007 ended in June 2009 and lasted 18 months.

According to those who pay attention, the recession really started late in September of 2008 when the financial meltdown, highlighted by the death of Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, along with most of the other investment banks, triggering a global panic in financial markets around the world and leading to the sloughing off of millions of jobs around the world.

The Economists claim the recession ending in June of last year, but as we slog through what is likely to be another grim Christmas season, everyone, except the Economists, would argue that while the recession may be technically over, the effects, and thus the perception of the recession is still very much with us.

And that is what is at the heart of a number of lingering issues in the United States and other countries in the world. Worker out rage, voter anger, and unsettled national interactions are all interrelated to the general malaise that is being seen around the world.

In the United States, reports that companies are sitting on potentially billions of dollars does not sit well with people that are out of work and have been out of work for months and are watching their safety net continue to erode as politicians play games in Congress. The argument that you should be prepared for your own unemployment, a rally cry of many libertarians is falling on deaf ears and people begin to eat away at their retirement savings just to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.

What this recession is really highlighting is how little a safety net many people have an how little the future has to show. Gone are the halcyon days for many. The next ten or twenty or forty years will consist of hard work, little increased savings and the very real problem of working to death. Our golden years will likely be spent as we have spent the bulk of our life. Toiling away at a job we might not like, but which we cannot afford to quit.