3rdnlng Posted September 1, 2020 Posted September 1, 2020 The pandemic has obviously influenced our daily lives but what will it do to the long-term makeup of our country or our customary way of doing things? As an example, the massive amount of people who have worked from home in the last few months have proven to many companies that they can make it permanent. This in turn cuts down on the office space these companies need, therefor making office space readily available and cheaper. The downtown restaurants, convenience stores and even dry cleaners will have less business while the suburban versions may have an increase. The person who used to eat out for lunch and pay $20 may choose to make a sandwich at home for $1.50. With so many people not traveling back and forth to work each day will we have a substantial reduction in carbon emissions and a glut of fossil fuels? The above is just a few things to think about. What other changes do you see? Also, the sharp operator may get ahead of the crowd and decide to make an investment in some section of our economy that will get a boost as a result of the pandemic. Watcha think? 3
3rdnlng Posted September 3, 2020 Author Posted September 3, 2020 Bump. I was hoping to actually get some thoughtful responses to this.
US Egg Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 The food at many restaurants that re-opened is not as good as it was previous to the outbreak. 1
Buffalo Bills Fan Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 If Joe Biden wins everything might change. I keep thinking they might might make a play covid19. I really think t and b cells helps ( agreement with many) but there are those might be damage for life sadly. That's my worries about this virus. But glad they have meds to help people and stuff. Get thru it and have immune cells. President Trump needs to win. Democrats control if wins will try to control more. America going to be way worse. They don't do things for honor or anything sadly. What you said earlier bussiness lost, rural areas are getting badly. Many shut down here. President Trump has been right on lots of things. Need to have him in over the madness lately. Democrats are going to try to change more with no honor with American people or just people in general. 1
Azalin Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 I mentioned in another thread (probably the covid-19 thread) that many people that used to work in downtown Austin are now working from home. We got slammed at work in recent months installing high-priority, high-capacity fiber optic data circuits designed to provide access for employees to work from home. Many were for private business, but many were also for state agencies. Traffic in and out of downtown is a fraction of what it normally is, and I suspect that it will remain that way for quite some time. What few restaurants that are open are operating on a shoestring budget with reduced-capacity seating. Many are closed for good. Bars and clubs are really hurting, with iconic music venues going away forever. COVID-19 is having a massive impact on Austin businesses, much of which I believe will be permanent. One industry that's going gangbusters is the collective delivery services. I've been having my groceries delivered for a couple years now, but since COVID I've been getting beer and liquor delivered, have had my laundry picked up and delivered, and have increased my Amazon purchases, as well as my food orders from both Grubhub and DoorDash. In a post-COVID world I would imagine some of that to fall off to an extent, but I believe the availability of delivery services will continue to grow now that it's in place. 4
Joe Miner Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 Much like many companies pay an employee a monthly stipend for a cell phone so that they can stay connected through email and such, many companies will start looking at the idea of paying an employee a stipend to set up a home office so that they are able to ditch the costs of expensive building leases. I’m not sure downtown office space will ever return to where it was before Covid.
dpberr Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 Provided there's an effective vaccine, I see a lot of "life' reverting back to February 2020 "normal". Not necessarily because I want it to, but you'll find that there are a lot of forces that will push it that way. 1. One of the reasons I have this opinion is the reaction to the lock downs. When you tell someone they can't have something, they want it 100 times more than they did before. I think part of the problem with virus spikes is that the lock downs created a frenzy of pent up demand, and when the government let everyone out of their cages, people went crazy and flocked to the beach, flocked to restaurants, flocked to bars. Kids, who've spent nearly 180 days without seeing other kids, and are generally at their most stupid during the college years, made up for lost time with huge parties at college. If the crisis was managed at the outset, versus an attempt to choke it off or flat out ignore it, where businesses and travel stayed open but rigorous mask wearing was required among other precautions, people wouldn't have had that deep sense of "missing out." The federal and state governments get artistic style points for botching the COVID response. That's what you get when you've got crap leadership everywhere. I think everyone sucked. Trump. Governors. 2. The economy was and is disturbingly fragile. So many businesses, industries, pension funds, landlords, rich people with influence, and cities have discovered (or soon will discover) they desperately rely on people going somewhere to work to make money. I think you'll see a significant push from the real estate industry and local government to get people back into office buildings, patronizing downtown restaurants and businesses, etc. NYC is a dead city without Manhattan brimming with people. Your local restaurant desperately needs a full dining room to make a profit. Your pension funds that invest in real estate companies that own Class A office space need those buildings with leases that pay money. 3. People are going to find out working from home is difficult, especially if it's permanent. Even under the best of circumstances, you're isolated, held hostage by your internet connection. You're even more isolated if others are back at work with face to face contact. Out of sight, out of mind. While during spring/summer/fall, working from home allows for taking breaks outside to enjoy the weather, how about in the middle of winter? 4. The government wants you all to drive. A lot. Money that funds transportation projects at the federal level and at nearly every state level relies on a gas tax. 5. Schools and teachers unions want kids in school. The only way you keep everyone employed is to have them actively working in the building. Teachers unions fighting in-person instruction win a battle just to lose a war. Once people are laid off, especially in the public sector, those positions are rarely filled ever again. 6. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Divorces are skyrocketing in the months of this pandemic because people figured out that living with each other and the kids 24/7 is a nightmare, and the time away at work was a positive influence on the relationship. 7. People enjoy being unhealthy. COVID should strike the fear into every smoker, drinker and overweight person. Have you seen a lot of people who got healthier in the last couple months? I don't. I think people will continue to eat out a lot, booze a lot, and smoke a lot. I could go on. I think three years removed from vaccine day you might see that the only thing that might "stick" is mask wearing during flu season. 1
ziltoid Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 (edited) 19 hours ago, Buffalo Bills Fan said: If Joe Biden wins everything might change. I keep thinking they might might make a play covid19. I don't think you mean this, but I could totally see Cuomo being involved in a COVID19 Broadway play when they reopen. Problem is, by his metrics it may be after his kingly reign is over. Don't worry, they'll still treat him like royalty. You may finally see fiber being run to rural areas if companies start subsidizing home internet access. Capitalism to the rescue! Edited September 3, 2020 by BeerLeagueHockey
Capco Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 17 hours ago, BeerLeagueHockey said: Capitalism to the rescue!
ziltoid Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 14 minutes ago, Capco said: Labor with a U - opinion dismissed. 1
Capco Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 2 minutes ago, BeerLeagueHockey said: Labor with a U - opinion dismissed. "America First" in a nutshell.
ziltoid Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 1 minute ago, Capco said: "America First" in a nutshell. Yes, because my dream is to put little kids to work. Why did that comment russle your jimmies so much? Capitalism ruin your life?
Capco Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, BeerLeagueHockey said: Why did that comment russle your jimmies so much? Capitalism ruin your life? Nothing personal. Your post was the most recent search result for the word "capitalism" lol. Also, the point of my "America First" reference was not to suggest that you want to employ children, but rather to highlight your automatic dismissal of something because it doesn't fit your worldview. "Americans are often stereotyped as arrogant people. They are frequently depicted in foreign media as excessively nationalistic and obnoxiously patriotic, believing the U.S. is better than all other countries and patronizing foreigners." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypes_of_Americans#Arrogance_and_nationalism Edited September 4, 2020 by Capco
ziltoid Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 1 minute ago, Capco said: Nothing personal. Your post was the most recent search result for the word "capitalism" lol. Fair enough. Try searching the term trump, I hear he may have caused some consternation somewhere once. 1
TakeYouToTasker Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 19 minutes ago, Capco said: Thank you “Commie Spice”. Just a quick reminder for the class that capitalism had nearly ended the practice of child labor in the very early 1900’s, through automation and quality of life improvements; less labor was required to produce more goods, and increased wages for adult earners, freeing children from their human history long obligations of toiling along with the rest of their families so as not to starve. Along came the government in 1938 to pass an unnecessary law, and take credit for work already done by markets and innovation. In fact, all the law actually served to do was to completely impoverish those scant few remaining families reliant on the wages of their children to survive; driving a spike of abandoned street children whose parents could no longer afford their care. 1
Capco Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 1 minute ago, TakeYouToTasker said: Thank you “Commie Spice”. Just a quick reminder for the class that capitalism had nearly ended the practice of child labor in the very early 1900’s, through automation and quality of life improvements; less labor was required to produce more goods, and increased wages for adult earners, freeing children from their human history long obligations of toiling along with the rest of their families so as not to starve. Along came the government in 1938 to pass an unnecessary law, and take credit for work already done by markets and innovation. In fact, all the law actually served to do was to completely impoverish those scant few remaining families reliant on the wages of their children to survive; driving a spike of abandoned street children whose parents could no longer afford their care. I'm so glad there's not been any child labor in the world for the past 100 years. All thanks to capitalism (and not science or technology, of course; neither can exist without the foundation that is capitalism).
SectionC3 Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 31 minutes ago, BeerLeagueHockey said: Yes, because my dream is to put little kids to work. Why did that comment russle your jimmies so much? Capitalism ruin your life? I’d rather have kids working than pulling security with an AR-15 in Kenosha. Maybe there’s a happy middle ground where we don’t have child labor and don’t have heavily armed children roaming the streets. 1
Reality Check Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 Just now, SectionC3 said: I’d rather have kids ***** than pulling security with an AR-15 in Kenosha. Maybe there’s a happy middle ground where we have child ***** and don’t have heavily armed children roaming the streets.
3rdnlng Posted September 4, 2020 Author Posted September 4, 2020 1 hour ago, SectionC3 said: I’d rather have kids working than pulling security with an AR-15 in Kenosha. Maybe there’s a happy middle ground where we don’t have child labor and don’t have heavily armed children roaming the streets. Well, at least organize them:
SectionC3 Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 3 minutes ago, 3rdnlng said: Well, at least organize them: Had to reach back in time to find a photo of some dark-skinned children with assault weapons. No undertones of racism there whatsoever! 1 hour ago, Reality Check said: Looks like you have a nasty case of SC3 Derangement Syndrome!
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