The Lockdown has Demonstrated 3 Things.

[RickW]

From the French mag, Charlie Hebdo, which was subject to a terrorist attack a few years ago. Interesting observations.

[Cosmic Wonder]

Rick, stealing this and posting on FB.

Mike

[RickW]

That’s where it came from. Couldn’t find the original anywhere on the net.

[Cornflake]

It's oversimplified and all that but there's merit in each contention. The economy tanked chiefly because, back in March, people quit buying things they could do without so as to minimize the risk of infection. (Something I agree with the conservative American Enterprise Institute about.) I hadn't appreciated how much of our economy rests on such "extras." My son's job depended on air travel so it blew away. By and large, the demand for real necessities is still high and the supply hasn't been interrupted in a major way (knock on wood). I think the demand will return when the virus is controlled. Meanwhile, a lot of people whose jobs depended on "extras" are hurting and I think we need to share the pain as best we can.

[t-bob]

Jul 4, 2020 14:36:24 GMT -5 Cornflake said:

It's oversimplified and all that but there's merit in each contention. The economy tanked chiefly because, back in March, people quit buying things they could do without so as to minimize the risk of infection. (Something I agree with the conservative American Enterprise Institute about.) I hadn't appreciated how much of our economy rests on such "extras." My son's job depended on air travel so it blew away. By and large, the demand for real necessities is still high and the supply hasn't been interrupted in a major way (knock on wood). I think the demand will return when the virus is controlled. Meanwhile, a lot of people whose jobs depended on "extras" are hurting and I think we need to share the pain as best we can.

This is a waiting journey and a halfway house.... and more

[Marshall]

1 - It's a service economy. Are we all supposed to go back to being substance farmers?

2 - People's activities create pollution. So why don't we just execute half the people on earth. That'd solve that issue.

3 - They're important components of a roaring cheap economy. But they are expendable in times of crisis.


I don't like any of this. But it makes as much sense as the Charlie Hebdo meme.

[Dub]

Jul 4, 2020 14:04:41 GMT -5 RickW said:

That’s where it came from. Couldn’t find the original anywhere on the net.

Tineye doesn’t find it but Google Images does. It’s from Twitter. Retweeted from Charlie Hebdo recently but went back a month in the Hebdo channel and didn’t find it so the original al must be older than that.

There is a great deal of truth in those three observations. Of course, not the whole story.

[aquaduct]

Jul 4, 2020 16:36:05 GMT -5 Marshall said:

1 - It's a service economy. Are we all supposed to go back to being substance farmers?

2 - People's activities create pollution. So why don't we just execute half the people on earth. That'd solve that issue.

3 - They're important components of a roaring cheap economy. But they are expendable in times of crisis.


I don't like any of this. But it makes as much sense as the Charlie Hebdo meme.

Damn son, that's almost as cynical about this as I am.

You OK?

[Cornflake]

Marshall, I didn't read this as advocating any particular course of action, just as making observations. I imagine we'll go back to pretty much the same economy we had before. We've been alerted to a fragility in it. As for pollution, a lot of people here have noted that the pandemic has eased traffic a lot and cleaned up the air. Nobody wants to go through a pandemic to achieve those things. But it's worth thinking about whether there are some viable alternatives to having huge numbers of people pour into the city center every day to go to work.

[Marshall]

Gas prices are pretty low. People still commuted when gas prices were twice as high as now. How you gonna stop that?

Surely there will be changes in work for the white color crowd based on lessons learned from the pandemic. But they will be lessons in productivity and containing the cost of massive office spaces. Environmental concerns will be mentioned because it's good PR, but the real reason will be business efficiency & cost containment.

[RickW]

Lol, Marshall. It’s a meme, like many memes. If anyone takes it as gospel, well, really? They are all points to consider and think about. If you’re nothing thinking about the vulnerability of the economy that relies on constant growth and selling services and things that no one actually needs, if you live in a city and you didn’t see how clean the air is, if it didn’t strike you as a little bizarre that grocery store workers, gas station attendants, etc., were deemed critical, and are still getting paid their minimum wage while in essence risking their lives, then you’re not thinking a whole lot.

[Marshall]

I refuse to LOL about any of this. You're welcome to if you like. I think no less of someone who does. We all need humor in our lives. Most of us grew up in the SNL generation of irreverent humor. Good funny stuff.

But I will not knowingly laugh at others pain.

[RickW]

Jul 4, 2020 19:56:42 GMT -5 Marshall said:

I refuse to LOL about any of this. You're welcome to if you like. I think no less of someone who does. We all need humor in our lives. Most of us grew up in the SNL generation of irreverent humor. Good funny stuff.

But I will not knowingly laugh at others pain.

You have completely lost me, Marshall, as to how we are laughing at others pain. I was laughing at your reaction. As I said, it’s food for thought, about our society.

[Marshall]

Jul 4, 2020 19:36:35 GMT -5 RickW said:

Lol, Marshall. It’s a meme,

In your own words.

I know you are not laughing directly at others.