“.but in a tough environment, businesses are more careful than ever to hire the right person. They make mistakes, because everybody does, but because of central planners, mere survival is the only agenda.”
How many CEOs can directly point to a tend fold + contribution to the bottom line?
The last company I worked for, went bankrupt paid their CEO $6 Million in bonuses during the final 3 years when the company was hemorrhaging money and had not had a single profitably year since he took office (After his father died. get the picture?). Even with their dire financial picture, I exceeded my 10X requirement.
There are several issues here, and you seem to be conflating them. Are many HR department vermin too insecure or incompetent to recognize real talent? Very often so. Is there an age discrimmination thing going on? No doubt, at least to a degree. Those are totally separate from the arguement about whether chronic unemployment versus hustling for part time jobs, etc, is a valid measurement of future productivity.
In an earlier post, you said you had handled your retirement with good planning, and I hope for your sake that is the case. You sound like a guy who has the skills to dabble with your own venture of some kind while in your retirement, or semi retirement. Yes, it is criminal that our government has made options tough for a guy with your track record. I am having to re-invent myself as well - post 50 - and you can darned sure guarantee that there will be no time frames of inactivity.