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HiggsBosonSlut's avatar

At one level people could see that a lot of work could get done remotely with the added benefit of having that commute time and money unspent. Managers who cruise around the office, coffee cup in tow, to oversee the cube dwellers probably hate it. But productivity is going good.

Conversely, I think the teachers unions may have ended up hurting their cause by staying remote longer. You've just proven that you can do learning via computer, so that teacher could be anywhere (India, Singapore, EU). And that remote teacher will likely come at a lower price than the union ones, with more luxe health benefits and retirement than the avg proles'. Yes, I know remote is a disaster for younger kids. But I won't underestimate the political schemers class for coming up with new ways to cut costs if it's advantageous. Imagine using those property tax dollars for something else, not to mention taking the land lots the schools are on and sending them off to developer friends to build other projects (palms greased all the way). Not saying it'd happen in the next year, but maybe the next 10 yrs.

Interesting to see if the arguments for Universal Basic Income get forwarded based on the shuttering of businesses. I'd think for a lot of people, going out to eat or bars won't be much of a thing, either due to lack of funds or finding out just how much that cost you. Certain industries may end up in a permanently lower or non-existent operating basis. Small businesses in general have suffered the most, and if they are indeed the "engine of the economy" things are going to get more grim over the next few years.

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HBI's avatar

When I hear about UBI it translates into "inflation" in my mind. Whatever the UBI would buy now, it won't be able to after people start chasing it with their UBI money. We're already seeing that in most sectors due to all the funny money being pumped into the economy now with unemployment bonuses and stimulus checks.

The teachers' unions are going to do just fine out of this. I seem to remember Kristi Noem saying that in SD, they'd lost contact with something like 25% of the elementary school students during this remote session thing. It makes the job of being a truant officer almost impossible, not that much effort is expended in that direction by most school systems anyway. They need to get the children going to school again to avoid that, which is going to keep the teachers' unions in the catbird seat in terms of demanding salary and benefits. If you let a quarter of the students fade out of the system, I can just imagine the attack ads.

Whether that quarter of students that don't want to attend school would be better off without the education on offer that they clearly don't want, that's another issue entirely. Could type up 10 pages on that one.

One could draw another conclusion from all of the remote work; that many people are redundant. Government would like to push that reckoning out for a long time, though it is coming. Thinking on a world where production and services require a quarter of the current population. That world is coming. What do you do with the rest?

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HiggsBosonSlut's avatar

What to do with the rest...if I were thinking like someone who wanted to advance humanity, honestly I'd set my sites on colonization and mining of other planets, moons and asteroids. My pop culture reference for that would be the first season of The Expanse.

Pessimist part of me says a lot more of the country will end up looking like depression Appalachia, and that life expectancy will drop 10-20 yrs.

I'm sure that the Global Hegemony would prefer a world that looked more feudal or at least Dickensian, so the avg person could look to have similar outcomes in terms of wealth and health (not good).

I'm not saying that this is what I want or that it can't change, but it's a likely trajectory.

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HBI's avatar

My thoughts run toward a lack of control associated with a lack of gainful employment. Bored people start causing trouble. An unhappy mob is bad for any country. Governments will react the way governments always react - with force. It's not a pretty thought.

The Elon Musk admirer in me wishes your initial thought were going to be the trajectory, but I see it something more along the lines of Gattaca, if we are to go that route at all.

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