I think what we are saying stlhead is that we should all take responsibility for ourselves and not look to Uncle Sam or the corporate board room for a security blanket. Public companies have a problem in that they have to dwell too much on the share price, dividends and stock options. Go to a stockholders meeting as a guest sometime (assuming you own no stock)...

I work for a Warren Buffet( one of the most successful yet lowest paid CEOs in the country) company now and before he bought us out we were one of the Fortune 100 companies....I learned alot about how the company management style changed when stock price was replaced by the bottom line as a priority.

My dad taught me many years ago to not feel indespensible. He told me to put my finger in a glass of water....then he said to pull my finger out... He said the the hole my finger left behind is how much I'll be missed when I'm gone....That has sure been true. He worked hard for the same company for 30 years and was laid off and replaced by two women who, combined, made less money. After that Senator Henry Jackson helped pass a law making that cruel practice illegal. Dad was a devout democrat and union member. My mom is now living off only her social security as once he died his was over. She gets about $100 a month from my dad's "retirement" from the big company he worked for all his life....

The moral is that he taught his son to stand on his own two feet and work hard and not to expect anything from anyone. He taught me to anticipate change and be proactive so as not to be destroyed by the inevitable changes. Maybe that is why I am a conservative...not because I am greedy and hate the environment but because I believe in personal responsibility and don't look to big government to take care of me cradle to grave. I don't hate corporations. I don't begrudge hard working members of unions even though I think their time has long since past. I don't hate government workers even though I think there are way too many of them.

So don't just sit there and moan about the big company bad guys who screwed you over....innovate...be proactive..get a government job ..whatever but don't blame anyone but numero uno for your lot in life.