I know exactly how you feel Andy. Sorry for your rough night.

In January we had to lay off 4 people, out of 8 production hands. One had been at the company 4 years longer than me. I went to each of their offices, sat with them, and gave them their notices. I hated it, it still feels bad. These people were all supporting their families making 50-60K salaries, one was a single mother. I felt like puking for a week.

My wife is one of the 24 larryb talked about. The thing that pisses me off most about the state/school districts and their lay-offs, is the seniority system. It seems like in every district there are a lot of teachers, who are past retirement age, are practically phoning it in, and they are pulling the biggest salaries. Then you have your new hires, the teachers in their 20s and 30s who not only give a crap, they take part in all the extra-curricular stuff and make a bigger difference in more kids lives. Not only that, their salaries are smaller. I understand rewarding years of good service, but dammit, this is America, when you no longer produce you should be put out to pasture (IMO).

That is a reason I like small business way more than government or corporate work. Getting paid or keeping your job because you earned it makes so much more sense to me. When I did my lay offs, I kept two who had been with us less than 2 years, but their upside is better and they just got more done than our longest tenured employee.

I gave a long lecture to my interns a few weeks ago about how a government job is the least safe thing to have since you can get laid off no matter if you are the best at your job or the worst. The only safe job is one where your boss lays awake at night worrying about what life would be like without you, and can do what it takes to keep you.

Rant over.