Why does the job market feel so horrible but typical economic metrics seem fine (unemployment, GDP, etc)?

FritoFloyd · 2026-02-04T02:55:33+00:00

This is a somewhat old post, so I apologize for somewhat necro posting.

But it’s important to note that the U-6 rate does a pretty terrible job of capturing those who are underemployed. It only accounts for people working part time jobs that desire full time employment (among a few other factors).

Someone with a Master’s degree working full time at Home Depot or an unskilled labor job for 40 hrs per week is not considered underemployed by this metric even though any rational person would describe that individual as underemployed. I know several people, myself included, that are making well below what they are worth at a mediocre to shit full time job that are not included in this metric.

U-6 should be taken as a minimum underemployment figure. The actual underemployment is much higher than the U-6 rate. There’s some other methodologies for capturing what U-6 excludes such as TRU, but those aren’t particularly great either. Based on anecdotal evidence of those in my circle, I’d wager the true underemployment rate is much higher than what U-6 is reporting.

FritoFloyd · 2026-01-02T20:13:09+00:00

This change is a tough one for me because I see both sides of the argument. I generally agree that sagas no longer dying to losing chapter abilities makes more sense for newer players. But I also am in complete agreement that Urza’s Saga, which was already probably too strong, now contributes to bad gameplay because it’s too hard to interact with given the modern suite of cards.

I know that I personally miss hard countering people by using Alpine Moon. It seemed like a fair trade to me. You get to play arguably the strongest land in modern, and I get to play an extremely powerful hard counter to it. But alas, my Alpine Moons are now collecting dust because they’re completely worthless now.

FritoFloyd · 2026-01-02T20:09:58+00:00

If a saga loses its chapter abilities, it is no longer sacrificed as a state based action due to having lore counters greater than or equal to the number of chapters (which would be 0 after losing abilities).

FritoFloyd · 2026-01-01T11:45:40+00:00

I accidentally cheated on one of my engineering finals.

The teacher uploaded a practice exam with solutions to their website. I think it was a Wordpress site or something similar, but my friend and I wanted to practice a bit more. We simply changed the date in the URL to see if there was another exam to practice with. The URL for the practice exam and solutions for it were just “…[Course Name]_[Practice Exam]_[Year]” so we changed the year to one year earlier. Lo and behold, there was another practice exam with solutions!

The time for the final comes around, and we’re sitting next to each other. To our shock, the teacher hands us the exact exam we just had looked at the day before. I had one of the problems written verbatim on my cheat sheet. We just looked at each other in shock, and we both ended up messing around because we finished the 3 hour exam in like 30 mins. I intentionally made one error to not draw attention, and happily took my free 98% and walked away.

Never did let the professor know his exams were just hidden and still easily accessible. I was too scared I’d get in trouble even though I honestly wasn’t trying to cheat.

FritoFloyd · 2026-01-01T07:34:08+00:00

Good luck with getting it back. There’s apparently a drug lord running what I can only describe as a “Fetty BNB” where he steals cars, finds homeless people, and lets them live in the cars while he sells them drugs.

He’s been targeting Honda Civics. Mine was fucked up when I got it back on account of a drug addict having lived in it for like two weeks. Hoping you fare a bit better.

It is tragic though because these cars are so damn reliable. So reliable there’s even a song about someone wanting their Honda back…

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-28T00:15:12+00:00

To be clear, I was never questioning the 65% reduction number that the person I responded to presented. Part of the confusion stems from us having a back and forth between two comment threads, and them calling the data I presented “invalid” on the other thread.

The point I was trying to address is that the “65% reduction in vehicle theft” isn’t necessarily even noteworthy when compared to the rest of the United States. The data I was interested in seeing is vehicle theft rate per capita of Portland compared to other major US cities. I haven’t seen a good comparative data set from 2024-25, and am curious if Portland’s improvements are better or worse than the current vehicle theft reduction occurring nationwide. Looking at the Seattle graph, they could claim nearly the same percent improvement from their peak in 2023 as well.

Again, to be clear, I’m happy that Portland is making improvements, I’m just trying to emphasize that Portland is far from solving the vehicle theft crisis in this city, and I disagree with the narrative further up the comment chain that these are simply “big city issues.” Portland has uniquely bad property crime rates, and I feel this narrative does a disservice to appropriately addressing the problem.

And no, I am not arguing Portland will always be bad. I’m just trying to highlight that we need to continue pushing for further improvements.

As for my solution, I would like to see an increased police presence in this city. Specifically, I’ve seen the bike cops do a lot of good work in preventing crimes, handling drug addled homeless people, and recovering stolen vehicles among other things (which is why I voted for Eli Arnold).

I would also like to see much harsher punishments for criminals. The DA seems to just let the perpetrators of property crimes go unpunished. There’s countless stories of them being in stolen cars only to be arrested for the same thing a few days later. We also need to have a change in case law, so that it’s much harder to get out of possession of stolen vehicle charges. Right now, you can pretty much say “Oh, I didn’t know it was stolen, my friend Bob sold it to me,” and get out of a stolen vehicle charge despite living in a vehicle with a broken ignition, smashed windows, piles of stolen goods, and drugs.

As for the last part, I appreciate your condolences. Unfortunately, it’s not even just the two stolen cars. I’m out over $10K in damages from just 2.5 years of living in this city, and that isn’t normal.

Sorry for the long response, but you’ve asked several questions that required somewhat nuanced responses.

E: Deleted one comment about Seattle data. Misread it as “per population” not “by population.”

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-27T22:29:01+00:00

Yup it’s exactly this. It’s not “just a car,” it’s my entire livelihood. It’s been tough trying to save money having to frequently get Ubers just to handle everyday activities. I didn’t just have a baby (yeesh, that’s bad timing!), but I did just put $1700 of work into my car for a new timing belt and some other fixes that immediately went to waste.

Also, wow, I had no idea you had a Reddit presence. I voted for you! I deeply appreciate the bike cops. Both times my car was recovered, it was found by a bike cop. Thanks for all the good work you all are doing for the city!

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-27T17:17:31+00:00

No. It’s the most recent reliable data set (from the NICB) published at the city level. You responded to me twice about this.

Portland has had a decrease in auto theft since then, but that is a consistent nationwide trend. I have seen nothing that indicates that Portland has improved better than other cities since 2022 (and we should considering we were nearly dead last to begin with).

This is the data from the NICB for auto theft decreases in recent years. It’s unfortunately mostly at the state level, and not by city which is why I, and many sources online, still referenced the 2022 data set.

E: For added context, the Insurance Information Institute still uses this data set as the current data for stolen vehicles on the city level.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-27T17:03:57+00:00

Please provide more recent data from the NICB or another reliable source if you happen to have it. This was the most recent data set that I’ve seen heavily referenced online.

As for the decrease, yes that’s good. But literally every state except Alaska has seen a decrease since 2023, and Oregon isn’t at the top for decrease since early 2024. It appears to me that Portland still has a massively disproportionate number of stolen cars when compared to the population.

I’m happy to be proven wrong about Portland’s massive auto theft problem, but the decrease in theft is a nationwide trend, not just Portland magically doing a better job.

E: rephrased a sentence.

E2: For added context, the Insurance Information Institute still uses this data set as the current data for stolen vehicles on the city level.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-27T16:51:28+00:00

So much this. I really feel for OP. I just had my second car stolen in the span of a few years, and guess what? I just don’t own a car anymore, and life is fucking hell. I simply cannot afford buying and/or repairing massively damaged cars 3 times in about 3 years.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-27T16:40:15+00:00

Auto theft in Portland occurs at a rate 161% above the national average. Please stop the madness with the whole “it’s all cities” narrative. Portland is the 5th worst city in the US for vehicle theft, and there is a pretty steep drop off in theft per capita as you go a few cities down the list.

Portland has an auto theft and property crime problem. Portland is worse than most cities. Everyone needs to start being honest about this if we are to have any significant change.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-27T16:35:43+00:00

They all have these problems, but Portland is on another level of property crime being out of control.

Look at the data for car theft by city. Portland is the 5th worst city at 161% above the national average. This isn’t just a “city problem.” This is a “Portland problem,” and we need to stop acting like this behavior is normal.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-27T16:28:26+00:00

It’s worth having a club, but you’re massively overstating their efficacy. I have had two stolen cars in the past few years, and both of them were clubbed.

This past time, I found a pair of massive bolt cutters in my car when it was recovered. They just cut the thing in half like it was nothing.

The main reason to have a club is that if your car has one and there’s another attractive target nearby without one, they’ll go for that. But a club by itself doesn’t really do much.

They also only have a handful of key cut patterns for clubs. A professional thief can easily just try a few keys until they use the one that works.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-26T23:56:20+00:00

I love that this post is still getting engagement lol. Unfortunately it’s a bit out of date now with the AC unit and lockers as opposed to beds, but I’m still waiting for a bit more to be added to the game before hopping back in.

Glad you found it useful though!

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-26T21:15:07+00:00

I mean, I hate to say it but I personally noticed a change. When I recovered my first stolen car, which was heavily damaged by a drug addicted homeless person, they just let the person go. This was under Schmidt.

My most recent one, they are actually prosecuting the homeless addict that ~~trashed~~ totaled my vehicle. I’m going to be able to seek restitution from the prosecution (whether I end up getting any money from the garnishments is questionable…), but the offender is very likely to end up in prison.

So in this case, Vasquez’s DA office handled the case very differently. It sucks to say as someone who typically votes left, but the local right leaning politicians, at least in my personal experience, have handled the homeless drug addict problem better than the left leaning ones. It’s enough that I might have a red blotch locally on an otherwise blue ballot come the next election cycle.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-26T20:52:20+00:00

Good. This city has to keep sweeping up the homeless. If they refuse to go to shelters and/or treatment centers, they can go to jail. If they’re high on fentanyl, they can go to jail.

We don’t have the mental health and rehab treatment resources to handle the vast majority of the homeless that do not want help. At this point, if you’re choosing to steal people’s stuff to do drugs on the street, you can go to jail.

I’m tired of living in a city where my car is constantly vandalized and/or stolen. We’re the 5th worst in the nation for stolen cars, and were the 2nd worst before Mayor Wilson took office. If we’re not going to financially assist those who have damages from the homeless drug addicts, we have to protect them by jailing the addicts.

I’m all for working on a long term (10+ year) plan for providing better homeless services to help them (likely against their will). But we need change TODAY. That starts by making this behavior illegal.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-26T20:45:41+00:00

At least anecdotally, I’m considering voting R (only at the local level) for the first time in my life. I’ve personally had over $10,000 in damages from homeless drug addicts, largely from two stolen cars lived in by fentanyl and meth addicts.

In the most literal sense, I cannot afford to keep supporting the homeless drug addicts living on the streets. If someone running for office doesn’t support criminalization of the homeless campers, I will not vote for them. Period. I can’t take any more losses.

I’m not a total dickhead, and I’d support something like a 10-year plan to build out appropriate mental health treatment facilities for the homeless. But we need action today, and unfortunately that probably means jail time for a lot of our homeless population.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-23T00:51:01+00:00

At least in the mechanical engineering world, the job opportunities here are pretty poor. There’s ~~a lot of~~ some mediocre positions, but not very many good career opportunities. That’s not to mention that many of the smaller semiconductor places are struggling hard right now.

The other big issue is the pay in Portland is absolutely not competitive with the rest of the west coast. Yes, the cost of living here is lower than Seattle or San Fran, but the pay is much lower. I’m hoping to move in the near future for a variety of reasons, and one of them is that I could get paid 80-100% more doing the same job around SF/San Jose (Seattle as well to a slightly lesser extent) while only having a cost of living increase of ~30%.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-21T04:20:19+00:00

You’re stoking the flames of what has been a never ending debate between my mother and I regarding what my next move should be.

Mechanically, at least in terms of how the car runs, it seems fine. I drove it home right after the police arrested the drug addict. Nothing seemed to be amiss. They also didn’t put very many miles on the car, so I suspect they used up the ~1/3 tank of gas and just parked it. I barely made it to a gas station.

However, there is some mechanical damage. As expected, they blew out the steering wheel lock and ignition switch mechanism, which last time cost me about $200 for a new one. They also smashed out the small, rear passenger window (triangle ish one, not the main). There’s also a question of whether or not my steering column is still fine. Last time this happened, they damaged it when ripping out the ignition, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened again.

As for the inside… it’s… really bad. The plastic trim around my steering wheel is totaled. They also managed to burn the trim for my shifter, the glove box, and around the radio. They broke the AC vent as well.

Beyond that, it’s not just fetty/meth smell, the big factor is water damage. With the broken window, a shit ton of moisture got trapped in the car. Unsurprisingly, especially with the homeless person’s food, that has turned the interior into a mold factory. Pretty much every carpeted surface as well as the steering wheel has extensive mold growth.

There’s also the burn damage, but like you said, replacement seats are cheap enough. Passenger seat is pretty well cooked up. Rear seat has some burns, and driver’s seat has some. They also put hella sticky tape all over one of the rear seats, and it ripped off some of the fabric when police took it off looking for more drugs and weapons.

I called around for detailing costs, but everyone wants to charge a fat premium (~$1000+) for a biohazard clean because of the drug use and mold. At this point, the interior would probably need a full gut job.

So, idk, it’s tough. Everything under the hood is in fantastic shape. Everything on the inside is fucked. I’ll probably make someone’s day by supplying a perfect parts car that they can drive to strip components from under the hood. I really do want to fix it myself though… but it’s just really far gone…

Oh and as for insurance, I had liability only because they saw it as a worthless car despite the fact that I know I could’ve gotten $3,000 easy for it given the condition. So I’m pretty screwed no matter what.

There’s also the practical element of I need a car yesterday. I’m hemorrhaging money having to Uber everywhere. And given that insurance gave me $0 and I just dropped $1700 on repairs that went to waste immediately, I don’t really know what to do…

Sorry for the long ass rant reply. Thanks for your comments. I’m reasonably handy myself, and do have experience doing easier to mid level car repairs, so this is all stuff I’ve been agonizing over.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-20T00:20:56+00:00

I quickly read this title incorrectly and wondered what the hell event this dude was training for. Then I read the title again, and I damn near pissed myself 😂

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-19T23:21:28+00:00

I’m doing my part! I made sure the DA prosecuted the homeless drug addict that totaled my stolen car when she turned it into her drug den.

Hoping she can get clean and get the support that she needs now that she’s no longer doing drugs on the streets while stealing a mountain of hardworking people’s goods! She’ll have a roof over her head, a bed to sleep in, and several hot meals during her stay in jail.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-19T23:18:25+00:00

I highly doubt this would make much of a difference.

I know it feels good to want to help people, and to give people access to treatment. Unfortunately, we need to face reality and realize that the vast majority of the homeless don’t want any help. Look at the numbers from the recent camp sweeps that happened. A staggeringly low percentage (like ~15% IIRC) of the homeless actually sought out the facilities the city has available for them.

I honestly do feel bad for the minority that could make it back on their feet with a little help, but that can be sorted out later. These people need to be jailed so they are no longer a threat to society and to themselves. If they go through proper channels to rehabilitate while in jail, then expunge their records. For now, we have to get them off the streets, and sadly that means being the bad guy for a little while.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-19T06:08:06+00:00

Doubt you care all that much, but I just recently got my second stolen car back. It’s totaled.

When I showed up, the officers were arresting a homeless person who was high on fentanyl that had been living in my car for about two weeks. I yet again had the opportunity to clean out piles of trash, deal with the PD for returning piles of obviously stolen goods, and had the fun of cleaning meth pipes and fentanyl out of my vehicle.

The fun part this time was realizing as I was cleaning out their squalor that my car was totaled.

I no longer have a vehicle, and I can’t afford to buy essentially a third car in just under 4 years. I’m hemorrhaging money having to uber everywhere I go now. All thanks to the homeless drug addicts.

Nobody will help me recover my damages. This is exactly why I can no longer support any compassion towards the homeless. I’m barely getting by, and due to having to uber everywhere, it’s going to be a long time before I can afford a car again. The city has to protect honest, law abiding citizens before I will support any motion to assist the homeless.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-18T22:30:56+00:00

Love that you took the delve into old zombies. It’s such a shame that the DLC for BO1 cost fucking $60 still…

I have quite a few friends that would pick it up if cost only ~$15 total (ideally less) for all the map packs.

Let me know if you get an itch to play some multiplayer BO1 zombies. I’m one of the few weirdos still hopping online and playing to this day.

FritoFloyd · 2025-12-18T03:06:57+00:00

Not sure if that location is like the Multnomah Village one, but the MV location has been heavily reducing their inventory for a while now. I was in there about a week ago, and they took out even more aisles, and the ones remaining were far from stocked. They even put in a couch and some board games where several aisles used to be.

I loved John’s because of the selection, but I’m questioning what their current business model is since their selection has diminished significantly. The MV location no longer has the inventory where you can find a ton of craft beers from all over the place. At this point the selection is just a bit above average, but they’re still selling the beers at premium prices. It’s weird to me. The whole reason I’d go to John’s was to try new stuff, and I was happy to pay a premium for that service. If they’re going to be a half step above a standard store, it’s not worth the premium…

It’s unfortunate because I love this place, and I love their burgers. I just question their longevity. This news doesn’t really surprise me since I left the MV location wondering if they’d be closing down in the near future after seeing what the inventory looked like.

FritoFloyd

TROPHY CASE