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If COVID-19 causes a recession, will it be harder to get a job in tech?
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james_s:
But you can't just press the pause button for s bit and then resume, the world doesn't stop turning. While we are all stuck at home we are still consuming food, water, energy, all manner of services, and somebody has to make or provide all of that. There is a whole supply chain involved in getting food on our tables, from the obvious stuff like farm workers down to all of the equipment makers, mechanics, chemical companies, fuel, truckers, road maintenance, spare parts, and dozens of other interconnected pieces. The people living in densely populated urban areas which is most people are utterly dependent on a functional economy for survival, we can't just shut it down. Disruptions cause ripples that propagate throughout the whole system and the effects can be catastrophic.

Mr. Scram:

--- Quote from: james_s on March 24, 2020, 06:41:38 pm ---But you can't just press the pause button for s bit and then resume, the world doesn't stop turning. While we are all stuck at home we are still consuming food, water, energy, all manner of services, and somebody has to make or provide all of that. There is a whole supply chain involved in getting food on our tables, from the obvious stuff like farm workers down to all of the equipment makers, mechanics, chemical companies, fuel, truckers, road maintenance, spare parts, and dozens of other interconnected pieces. The people living in densely populated urban areas which is most people are utterly dependent on a functional economy for survival, we can't just shut it down. Disruptions cause ripples that propagate throughout the whole system and the effects can be catastrophic.

--- End quote ---
Are sales going to be different? Obviously they will be. But I don't think it should be considered a recession in the normal sense. We could scare ourselves into an actual recession but we have to remember that everything is still here. We just put things on hold for a bit.

The whole infrastructure is there and functioning. We're just cutting down on the non vitals and those can be paused or slowed. Some people will need some help getting by while they sit idle and that's something which can be provided. Now's not the time to get hung up on political ideologies. Just get done whatever needs to be done and we'll figure the rest out once we're through it.
james_s:
There's nothing political about this, at least there shouldn't be. I just view keeping the economy running as absolutely vital. That says nothing of my general political leanings. Speaking for myself, if I become unemployed and stay that way very long, I won't have medical insurance and will have to forgo treatment for anything non-emergency. If that continues long enough I'll end up homeless without food to eat and at that point I'll be willingness to take just about any job I can get regardless of the risk to make ends meet and with more than a year's wages in the bank I'm in a far better position than most. Don't underestimate the risk of a catastrophic economic collapse or the suffering it would cause. We are nowhere near as self sufficient as we were during the last great depression. Just look at how much a little impact like people buying extra toilet paper is having, the system is a delicately balanced house of cards and fewer cards are non-essential than people realize.
Mr. Scram:

--- Quote from: james_s on March 24, 2020, 07:47:53 pm ---There's nothing political about this, at least there shouldn't be. I just view keeping the economy running as absolutely vital. That says nothing of my general political leanings. Speaking for myself, if I become unemployed and stay that way very long, I won't have medical insurance and will have to forgo treatment for anything non-emergency. If that continues long enough I'll end up homeless without food to eat and at that point I'll be willingness to take just about any job I can get regardless of the risk to make ends meet and with more than a year's wages in the bank I'm in a far better position than most. Don't underestimate the risk of a catastrophic economic collapse or the suffering it would cause. We are nowhere near as self sufficient as we were during the last great depression. Just look at how much a little impact like people buying extra toilet paper is having, the system is a delicately balanced house of cards and fewer cards are non-essential than people realize.

--- End quote ---
I fear that aid may be viewed as welfare or socialism in the US. We simply need to do whatever needs to be done to keep everyone afloat so we can resume life as quickly as possible and with minimal damage done.
Zero999:

--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on March 24, 2020, 08:48:22 pm ---
--- Quote from: james_s on March 24, 2020, 07:47:53 pm ---There's nothing political about this, at least there shouldn't be. I just view keeping the economy running as absolutely vital. That says nothing of my general political leanings. Speaking for myself, if I become unemployed and stay that way very long, I won't have medical insurance and will have to forgo treatment for anything non-emergency. If that continues long enough I'll end up homeless without food to eat and at that point I'll be willingness to take just about any job I can get regardless of the risk to make ends meet and with more than a year's wages in the bank I'm in a far better position than most. Don't underestimate the risk of a catastrophic economic collapse or the suffering it would cause. We are nowhere near as self sufficient as we were during the last great depression. Just look at how much a little impact like people buying extra toilet paper is having, the system is a delicately balanced house of cards and fewer cards are non-essential than people realize.

--- End quote ---
I fear that aid may be viewed as welfare or socialism in the US. We simply need to do whatever needs to be done to keep everyone afloat so we can resume life as quickly as possible and with minimal damage done.

--- End quote ---
I agree. I think James has put forward a very good argument for a why decent welfare and universal healthcare system is necessary. I've noticed there's a culture of blaming the poor for their poverty, especially in the US. The poor are generally not scroungers but people who have simply fallen on hard times and are struggling to clime out of poverty. Done the right way, welfare and universal healthcare should really be investments, rather than supporting laziness because they enable people to get decent jobs and pay the money back in taxes.

I hope some things good come out of this crisis and governments sorting out their health systems should be one of them.
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