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Comment by eweise | Hacker News Reader

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eweise·

Yep. last time I got laid off, I got paid through that day. nothing else.

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Lobby your representative for change. This is something that laws can and should fix.

Not having worker protections is a political choice. It's not something the market or technology will solve.

Many countries have laws that prevent workers getting laid off with no severance. It is a solved problem, but it's inherently a political problem.

This is why people should build a huge ass f-u fund and not look back.

Yep, this is what I do. Individual responsibility is an unpopular idea these days but the way I look at it, I am the one who is ultimately in charge of my family's wellbeing. That is far too important to entrust to a corporation's generosity or the whims of lawmakers.

I was responsible and still got punished. What do I do?

I don't think its an unpopular idea. But the fact is, being an employee is a lopsided relationship. You only have one employer but they have many employees. You leave and they still have an army to keep the business going but you get laid off and your income goes to 0. So yeah you can keep some money in the bank but still being without work especially with a family and mortgage, is a terrible spot to be in.

Yes, as soon as you have a regular paycheck you should start building an emergency fund. This should be taught to everyone in high school (or earlier) but we don't do it, among many other "life skills" that we do not teach because they aren't on the state standardized tests.

I had 6 months saved . It's been 13 months. School did not prepare me for the fact that my college degree in STEM could still leave me on the market for an entire caledar year

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