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As all of these closures happen we're going to see a massive stress test of the modern economy. HN has already seen a lot of comments about the remote work expe
by remarkEon 7y ago
As all of these closures happen we're going to see a massive stress test of the modern economy. HN has already seen a lot of comments about the remote work experiment that's currently in-progress, but the other experiment is this: what are we going to do with kids when their schools are closed and both parents work?
A lot of moms work these days, and that's going to make things a lot harder for keeping kids at home. Not trying to pass any judgement on women in the workforce, just pointing out that in black swan events like this it makes reacting to it a lot harder from a social perspective. Consider for a moment if most women stayed at home: school being cancelled would be annoying, but manageable. I've already heard from friends (on the west coast) that they have no idea how to handle this (kids are grade school age, 2nd and 3rd grade) given that they're both expected to still do their jobs remotely.
- Mirioron 7y agoIt's normal here that kids aged 7-8 and up usually go to school on their own and come home on their own. Then they stay at home on (or go out to play) until their parents come home from work. So, can't you just leave the kid at home? I've heard anecdotes from the US and western Europe that this isn't done, but surely you can do that in cases like this? Edit: I don't see how this doesn't cause a massive hit to the economy though. Some workplaces will be shut down and if stuff isn't produced then the economy isn't moving.
- cydonian_monk 7y agoEven 35 years ago when I was in the 7-8 age range and still living in my childhood part of the US, being left at home all day without supervision would have resulted in a visit from Child Protective Services had anyone found out. Just being alone on weekend evenings while my (single, divorced) mom went to her second job was enough to tick off some folks. These days I'd be afraid they'd send in a SWAT team to arrest the parents and "rescue" the kids.
- yodsanklai 7y agoWhat age is considered ok for kids to be alone nowadays in the US?
- alecco 7y agoYup. Add mobile phones, nanny-cams, and home security cameras. But the parents should be also mostly working from home, too.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- x1ja7 7y agoI think politics has to acknowledge that most jobs these days do not generate any economic output: They are parasitical jobs that feed on those with actual economic output. So if a parent has a bullshit job, that parent should be put on paid leave to take care of the child. The critical case is when both parents have real jobs.
- ezequiel-garzon 7y agoThe reasonable idea is of course is for any parent to be able to afford staying at home and raising their children, it need not be the mother. If living standards were higher I believe this would normally happen. The current divorce rate complicates matters, though, when it comes to deciding who stays home and who gets to advance their career.
- watwut 7y agoThat practically amounts to having large redundancy in cheap backup workforce as part of your economic system. That redundant workforce is on standby most of time. The trouble is that it simultaneously requires sacrificing interests of both the redundant workforce and leads to resentment of those pay for them in normal situation.