http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/unemployment http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/unemployment Listen up, younguns: Here's how this recession is going to go. You're going to get laid off. You're going to find a new job right away, and convince yourself things aren't that bad. Then you're going to get laid off from that job, too. And all your friends are going to get laid off, too, and move out of California. It's time to revisit Odd Todd, the 2001-era dotcom layoff victim who chronicled his unemployment online. The downside: "You can't buy any ice cream, because you have no money, and you can't go shopping, because you have no money." The upside: "It beats frickin' working." Go watch it, and laugh now, before it stops being funny.

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5069663&view=rss&microfeed=true When the IPOs dried up and all that bloomed in the Valley were pink slips, there were plenty of anti-tax zealots lining up with hats in hand for their weekly unemployment stipend from the state. Now California's unemployment fund is getting more insolvent by the month, with optimistic estimates pegging the shortfall at $1.6 billion by the end of next year. Those same evil corporate taxes that Schwarzenegger Republicans want slashed while asking state employees to work for minimum wage. So remember to stash some Euros under the mattress. Because if your nest egg is tied up in small lots of common share equity in a company that won't IPO anytime soon, or in options that are underwater, good luck using that equity to cover your mortgage, car lease and health insurance payments. (Photo by Kamal Hamid)

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