As you said yourself, it is much harder for the self-employed.
being self employed is also harder, but the potential upside is 100 folds better then being employed.
Id much rather have a hard time at the bank with 100k in my savings account, then having the same hard time at the bank with 2 years on at $30k a year just b/c some dumb fucks messed up the economy and now I am paying the price. Its not impossible to get a house in either situation though. So what you jump thru 2 more hoops? This is the game you play when your self employed. Dont like it? Rent an apartment or live with mom and dad or have your wife who has a secure job buy the home. Your not thinking... When you become self employed, you give up some things in life sometimes. Sounds like you want your cake and eat it too, but life isnt like that.
Any serious company offers benefits and sick days. This is pretty common to be honest.
Your mistaken, UPS/FORD/GE and plenty of other large companies are constantly laying off people AND/OR reducing benefits AND/OR making people wait longer to get those benefits ( waiting 12 months ) AND/OR going back on pensions. etc. Serious companies get in serious trouble. I think you must not watch the news in the last few years or have family that has worked at large corps. I know at several companies I had worked at in the past every year they were CHANGING at their will your benefits ( paying more for health insurance ), reducing or changing your vacation/sick allowance, and asking people to work longer hours on different projects. When someone can change that at a drop of hat, I dont think thats secure either and this was with serious companies. Your not getting anything more there.
Well isn't it better than... say... zero dollar a week?
Not really, considering that's pretty much a pre-tax amount and your only going to get it ( for what, 3-4 months now maybe? ) you only have 90-120 days to get something else before it runs out. Not secure to me. Its $45 a day bro. I wouldnt even want to waste my time with $45 a day if I knew it was going to end in 3-4 months.
You could go work and get paid under the table or waitress for that amount if you fill the need for a so called secure job and take home more money thats un taxed. however I think a better situation then calling in unemployment forms every week and applying for jobs that you have to do could be spent finding a way to make $45 a day on your own.
He will be replaced by the next higher-up. Once the business machine is in motion, it no longer depends on a single individual. Oh and if you get laid off, you apply for unemployment. See above.
Not every company has a board of directors or a qualified "next person". Your getting stuck on 1 example, much like your 3 year salary contract one. There is no sure way for an employee to feel unsecure then when the top boss that has been running the company for X years up and dies and "jr" or new VP, or even an elder executive takes over and has the potential to screw it all up.
What if your company's next leader ended up being:
Carol Bartz - Yahoo
Ramalinga Raju
Vikram Pandit - citigroup
Richard Grasso - NY stock exchange
Kay R. Whitmore - Kodak
William Sewell - Pan AM
I mean I could go on....
Sorry bro, but no matter how you look at it, there is more security with a corporate 9 to 5.
Keep in mind that I am being the devil's advocate here, I hate 9 to 5s, but I have to admit that they provide more stability and security than hustling on your own...
Maybe in your mind it does, but no matter what you do.. you don't generate your own money, your are always reliant on someone paying you. I would much rather cut out the middle cogs and middle men in my arrangements. Middle man and cogs are only failure points in you being secure.