Whilst I obviously agree that people should be paid a fair wage, I don’t think it is as simple as businesses “simply paying workers more” the number of businesses having to close due to loss of trade is an indicator of this, some fairly large businesses are going bust which shows that they aren’t necessarily making the huge profits people imagine, not all of course, but some industries operate on extremely tight profit margins as it is, due to fierce competition, people wanting ever cheaper stuff and so on.
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I think they actually have city ordinance in Davis Ca that you cannot smoke in many public areas.
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Spot on. We’ll sit here and say that everyone should be paid $40k/year for low skilled menial labor but at the same time we’ll complain about how $300 is too much for a new synthesizer. I don’t want to see people being abused and taken advantage of but I think we know that entire sectors of business will fold if we have to pay $47 for a McDonald’s sandwich.
Many businesses that we all rely on daily run with single digit or low two digit profit margins. That is a fact.
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Force businesses to pay workers more, cost of goods goes up and the automation angle looks real enticing at that point as well. It’s like a game you can’t win. I feel most jobs I’ve worked paid me what I was worth and I live in one of the most expensive areas in the country, California. And I’ve worked restaurant jobs, retail jobs, sales jobs, and IT. Therefore I can’t personally complain. I won’t speak for others here though because every situation is unique. I’ll admit that I don’t think my wife’s boss pays her enough for what she does and it seems he could afford to bump up pay a bit, but his margins are really good as a dentist.
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Something has to give, right?
Rents/asset prices are not sustainable.
I think we’re in for a deflationary episode - prices falling - but possibly not of complex luxury goods like synths.
As for the surge in demand, I think that’s because we’re used to spending what we have. We haven’t lived through a depression (Unless you’re Greek) and thrift is a foreign state of mind (I include myself in that). When the stimulus stops and real unemployment becomes obvious, people will be profoundly shocked. They won’t be buying synths.
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People who are making more money receiving state unemployment benefits plus the extra $600 a week provided by the CARES Act can be more selective about where they can work, should they choose to do so.
Workplace A has plenty of disinfectant, does not force workers to work within 6 feet of each other, etc.
Workplace B has no disinfectant, makes everyone work elbow to elbow, does not encourage mask-wearing, etc.
Can’t blame the unemployed person choosing to go to work at Workplace A. And the workplace that allows telecommuting would also be preferable over Workplace B.
Also can’t blame the unemployed person who chooses to bank the extra $600/week instead of spending it, knowing that it ends in July. Granted for some people, the $600 is just the difference between making rent/mortgage and falling short, so they probably won’t get to save as much, if anything.
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I so worry about all this trash generated in trying to stay “clean”…
I mean we already generate too much waste. it just seems like the event will just amplify this X-times.
all the chems sprayed on, wiped over everything. insects are already fucked. this would just make it worse. they help us deal with waste as well.
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I’m pissed about the number of masks and gloves I’m seeing on the side of the road, in the bushes, etc. 
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“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out” ~ Warren Buffet
It’s pretty cut and clear. People on unemployment and receiving checks have a safety net and can at a time of their choosing, can seek employment where they feel safe (and possibly make a better living.)
The worker owns the application of their labor. If employers aren’t providing for that workers needs, that worker has the right to not work.
I have 0 sympathy for these businesses that are failing because they can’t woo back their workforce.
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I know this is true regionally – you’re in Norway Jeronan, and there’s a thread around on price jumps in Australia. But i’m not sure that’s what will occur everywhere long term.
So far personally i haven’t seen prices on Synths and Musical equipment jump in the USA. To some extent, to me again, it feels like prices are constant or down slightly. I’ve looked at various inflation projections and monthly measures, and the inflation rate is projected to be dropping. Perhaps there are other trends that will have other effects.
The annual inflation rate for the United States is 1.5% for the 12 months ended March 2020 as compared to 2.3% previously, according to U.S. Labor Department data published on April 10, 2020.
The 0.3% is an annualized rate. I read somewhere else the projected inflation rate for 2020 is 0.62% And by the history of the 1930’s if that is any guide, deflation (negative inflation) was what happened.
There will also be an increase in poverty and a spread in incomes, again like in the 1930’s. And death – there will be plenty of that. There was actually a slight but significant decrease in mortality during the 1930’s depression (despite what others might have you believe.)
Hopefully though there is not a repeat of the economic policy in the early 1930’s under the Hoover administration and the premature roll back in the later 1930’s that made things worse.
So we’ll see if the premise of increasing prices does play out. What happens next is a large question.
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Move to Australia ASAP.
We import thousands from India and China because, apparently, Australians are too dumb to do anything with a computer 
Our unemployed get better medical benefits than the employed BTW. You can pay private insurance too, but the benefits of that are debatable. I mean, if you get some sort of cancer, you get treated in the same hospitals where the best treatments are available, and the best doctors too.
Just got to add, there’s no priority for those with private insurance either. Except in the very few private hospitals that are a bit lame compared to the public hospitals.
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It’s already happening with the tech and trade war between USA and China. Companies will bring production back to America and Europe but conditioned on labor being replaced by automation and AI. So we’ll get made in USA electronics and clothes but that won’t bring back any jobs. Labor is too expensive in the west and the markets will not accept that price hit, especially when trying to recover from a massive recession which we are about to head into.
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Have you ever owned a business? Made payroll?
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Some people don’t seem to understand that business owners can work for years without paying themselves, while their employees get a check every 2 weeks.
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Spot on! Some people just love to be the victim
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How do they eat?
How do you?
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You eat the money you saved up for years before investing in the business, or worse, you eat yourself into debt.
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It’s starting to sound like being a small business owner is not very ideal. Don’t worry, after this all blows over 1/3 of small businesses will go under and Mega Corporations will become even stronger! We can all look forward to a Blade Runner-esque future. We all can agree that the cyberpunk aesthetic is dope right?
No more Mutable Instruments, hello Behringer!
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