So far, in three weeks, there has been 16.6 million job losses, surpassing the estimated total of 15 million by this week.
This is devastating!
Has anyone thought what life will be like post-Corona? How long will it take to go back to life before? Will there be a “new normal”?
I think about it quite often…there will be a period of adjustment, both economically and societally … What that means specifically I can’t say - these are unique (to the living) times and how WE adjust and find those opportunities will define what that future will be.
Some people see this as devastating, others a set back, while others an opportunity (for what, depends on the person, the actions they take and the people they serve with those actions). It’s tough to see through the doom and gloom, but quite literally this is not the end of the world and there will be opportunities on the other side of this.
Every day!
Kinda joking, but kinda not.
My life has changed too much, often, and abruptly to believe in any real type of permanence or stability.
But that’s just one of the roots of my many insecurities. Not necessarily applicable to others.
This is a great opportunity for us to examine ourselves.
Automation, automation, and more automation.
Everyday is a great opportunity to examine ourselves…but yes, this is too…
I’ll be honest, at least in the business process world, dozens of shit need to be automated…DOZENS
Nothing last forever but the certainty of change.
For myself, the fact that I have been able to deal with massive life changes and still come out the other side is a source of comfort rather than insecurity. So far, I’ve got a 100% survival record, I reckon I’ve got that going for me.
For the last few years I had been living very frugally and saving for a big DP on a house. Prior to mid February, the plan was to buy a house this summer/fall and rent out my condo for breakeven rate.
Now everything is on hold. But, at least in my area, the large majority of people who can afford to own a house, are working jobs that allow them to telecommute or are not hit “too” hard by the quarantine policies in place. But the rental market is getting hammered with cash flow for landlords totally drieing up as people legally delay rent payments. Additionally, every real estate agent I’ve talked to doesn’t expect RE to drop much if at all due to the crisis.
I came into the workforce right after the collapse in 2009, and had to claw and scratch for a few years. Started getting where I wanted to be and was right on the cusp and then boom! This big setback. I know that is all it is: a setback, not a start over or gameover… But it does suck.
I wonder if there are big companies out there looking to offer a cash infusion to some small businesses in exchange for equity. The small guy would have little leverage so there would be great deals out there. I think buyouts are coming- ie Budweiser buying microbreweries, MCD buying local burger/diner chains, Facebook/Google buying entire main streets near their sattelite campuses.
As has already been said, automation and more automation.
Consolidation in the financial and retail industry. Huge problems for the hospitality industry worldwide.
Further gamification of blue collar jobs. As physical presence in an office will stop being seen as “hard work”, employees will have to increase even further the production of useless bullshit content.
Soviet (or WW2) central planning for key industries. Key players will receive untold billions to establish local supply chains (this process has already started) for crucial goods and products.
Increase in 3D printing.
Reduction of worldwide shipping.
Can you explain this in other terms. I admittedly don’t understand.
Short term, yes, long term, still yes, but people will always want food, drink, lodging and entertainment.
I believe you are correct here. I’m paying close attention to how the Defense Priority Act gets invoked. I’m already familiar with how it works under normal conditions, along with other supply regulations like DFARS for things like steel. Feeding the beast gets expensive quickly when a 3 inch bolt costs $10. Whatever the economic plan is, it will need a lot of money thrown at it if government is to will it into existence. Hopefully we can private sector a lot of what needs to be done.
How will you prove that you’re doing something useful and productive in a corporation? Clocking long hours in the office will stop being seen as a sign of “hard work”, especially if the business world enters a rhythm of repeated shutdowns.
Ergo, you have to step up the bullshit - presentations, useless zoom calls, more digital paperwork…
Yeah, but in digital form (entertainment) and physical food and drink delivered to their doorstep. Simply a massive acceleration of already well established trends.
I think this may be true in large corporations and it definitely is in government work. The entirety of my work output when I consulted for the State of Maine consisted of exactly those things, because those were the requirements.
I now work in a small business. You have to perform, or else it is painfully obvious when you are not. I’ve also worked in large corporations where this was true more often than it wasn’t, but plenty of people skated by at being deceptively useless.
Nope. People aren’t going to stop liking bars, restaurants, theme parks, church, you-name-it. Not for any extended duration. This is what what we do!
I think a change in values has been coming for over ten years. I see the end of quantity and the start of quality. People will want a better quality of life. They will stop wanting a bigger house, a bigger car, more watches, fancy clothes etc and replace those pursuits with better food, more time for the higher parts of Maslows hierarchy. To get their they’ll reduce their burn rate of cash.
Not a big corporation, but our company doesn’t have any debt and cash on hand. I’ve been working on brokering an equity deal with a local small business.
My buddy works there (Rogue). They are so behind on orders its ridiculous.
If you know how to weld and have experience with fitness equipment, now is a great time to start your own equipment business. All of the big online stores are nearly out of stock on almost everything.
I wish I had a decent setup to do this. My buddy does but he doesn’t want to start anything new. I have been trying to talk him into for a couple of years now but he doesn’t see a market in it because he doesn’t lift 
That’s optimistic. Why would you spend less when the government sends you money during hard times?
2008-2009 crushed a lot of people and they lost their homes. Did they learn to set aside an emergency fund in case their income stopped? It doesn’t appear so.