PARIS Survival Guy INTELLIGENCE: The Job Market’s Case of Long Covid

I just want to get this bit of intelligence out to you from my recent three-week research trip to Paris. As I wrote to you yesterday, Paris is open for business, but it feels more like a soft open, with staffing shortages being the main reason. In my conversations with locals, they tell me that in France, the government takes care of you when you’re not working. One even explained how Covid gave him the “opportunity” to spend more time with family, and he didn’t miss work one bit. Swell. He’s back to work now, but there are plenty of workers who aren’t and who may never return to their “old” jobs because they’ve simply found other things to do. Like what? I’m guessing there’s an army of day traders, especially here in the U.S., who will soon run out of cash or vote for another Biden term looking for free money. Not good.

Another anecdote from my conversation with a different gentleman in Paris is how bad the Covid situation was in other nearby countries, specifically Spain and Italy, where the government didn’t have the money to support its citizens. He said it was depressingly hard for them as his voice trailed off and we stood in silence. So, what does this mean? Well, look what’s happening here in America. For the kind of money available at the lowest levels of employment—minimum wage workers or part-timers—people simply don’t want to work. They’ve seen what it’s like not to work and to be paid handsomely for doing nothing. Thank you very little. There’s no point in working as far as they’re concerned.

All this remote working from home is creating an entitled class of worker and bitterness from those who can’t work from home (hello, teachers’ unions). Workers scooping ice cream for the summer are rare breeds today. Good luck finding someone to do that. A steppingstone job teaching one how to deal with customers face to face is an endangered species. Time to buy your own lawnmower. No one’s coming to do that work for you.

Action Line: Stick with me. Your Survival Guy’s on the streets of Paris for you.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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