Employers stop firing your employees NOW!

The global economy is plummeting and thousands of people have been laid off. How unfortunate, but not surprising, that America, one of the world’s most powerful country is going out of business! Overnight people have lost their means of livelihood and all this while there is a way to save the economy? What a shame that the higher ups in the administration have opted for the easy way out. They willingly bailed out large corporations, but ignored the most transparent of the solutions, and they don’t have to look too far; all they need to do is walk into a grocery store and witness the problem and solution for themselves.

The problem is the huge consumerism that has eaten into the wallets of working class Americans taking away huge chunks of their savings.The solution is to cut down on this wastage. After all how many brands of tea is a consumer going to buy during a single trip to the grocery store? And what is the likelihood that this shopper will try half the brands of a particular product that are shelved during his or her lifetime?

I would like to wake American consumers to a reality; all you executives, stop reconsider the termination of your employees, because if the rest of the world can live with a few choices, so can Americans; and this serves the best interest of none other than the American public. You heard me, stop consumer wastage and you will have solved a significant percentage of the problem!

A Student’s Predicament:

A senior in college, I have been waking up to the same dilemma for four years; what am I going to wear today? This is obviously an issue for a majority of high school and college students around the world; in America especially, this has become a major issue for students justified by the emphasis on impressions and an “expected standard.” In India however, that was the least of my concerns, I had a uniform through twelfth grade (junior college according to Indian educational standards) and even on free days, I didn’t pay too much attention on my appearance, it was my deeds and grades that mattered most.

Today, I can’t quit shopping for outfits, and although mandating uniforms in university is an unconceivable goal, I think that having uniforms in schools is imperative towards future discipline and helps avert potential wastage. The wealthy can afford to discard outfits after the first use, but those less fortunate, cannot. Yet, they try to get at par with their wealthy peers. These funds could be put to use elsewhere needed and would eventually shift to ensure that everyone can have equal access to resources.

Salaries of Faculty and Staff cannot be compromised!

300 employees of Georgia State University will be rendered jobless. This step is believed to save $9 million in state funds. Outrageous, bearing in mind that this could have been done by simply reevaluating the school’s energy conservation and hidden wastages! I am not targeting GSU, but also the thousands of schools and colleges in America including my alma mater, the University of West Georgia. If only universities ensured that electricity and air condition unites in buildings were turned off when not in use, they could save $80 per 100-watt bulb at 9 cents per 24 hour day hours. Turning AC units off overnight could save a huge portion on utility bills. This alone would help the institution cut costs and they would not have to terminate any of their employees who have families to feed.

Many universities have taken to cutting pays of their professors and invested their funds elsewhere like in athletic programs. This is not fair considering that many students pursue higher education, and not higher athletics. If this energy wastage is prevented, faculty would not have to pay for the recession. The University of West Georgia’s motto is “Educational Excellence in a Personal Environment,” but somehow I think the administration has voted on replacing the “Educational” with “Athletic”. West Georgia is what it is because of its students and professors, and unfortunately, UWG’s real wealth is being abused.

Athletic coaches receive a higher pay than professors who are most deserving because without their expertise, knowledge, and commitment to their students, West Georgia would not have harbored such shining alumni and programs. They have the state’s only Honors College and an excellent debate program; how can these and other phenomenal programs be compromised for athletics or to meet budget cuts? Athletics are essential no doubt, but so are academics; and if America would like to see their students get at par with their peers from other countries, she should act upon that goal and not compromise this for revenue. The world is shrinking and universities need to evaluate their most important assets, revealed in the quality of faculty and staff.

My search of the keyterm "cutting jobs" generated 45,900,000 entries, many of these from the current recession period. If Ford, GM and Chrysler are closing down dealerhips and manufacturing firms, then why did they have to manufacture so many cars in the first place? Did they expect all these cars to sell? What a wastage of resources that could have prevented the thousands of employees from loosing their jobs?

Dear Presidents, CEOs and Directors firing people, is not the solution, but could be the source of another major problem; people who have lost their jobs, add fewer and fewer dollars in the market and this could adversely affect the economy. So why not work towards preventing the problem, rather than curing the illness?