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Although I agree with the rent-seeker problem I really don’t think that’s what he was saying - for starters, the pencil pushers are much more likely to be at wo

Although I agree with the rent-seeker problem I really don’t think that’s what he was saying - for starters, the pencil pushers are much more likely to be at work (from home) than the food/entertainment/etc people I mentioned, and much more likely to keep their jobs during the pandemic. If your argument is what OP meant then I was giving them too much credit. > The latter two aren't really necessary, but we gave them jobs because it looks good when you report the quarterly unemployment stats. I don’t even know where to start with this. Clearly you have never worked in a grocery store. Beyond that - why would private businesses agree to hire unnecessary workers to juke unemployment stats? This entire argument makes zero sense. It seems like you have some strong views about the economy but they are disconnected from the facts.

uoaei 6y ago
Have you ever been in a grocery store outside the US? Am I really the one disconnected? The grocery stores obviously don't care about unemployment stats, but federal government incentivizing "job creation" without getting into specifics about the utility, necessity, etc. of those jobs is a real problem. Everyone who drives for Uber has a "job" but that is hardly anything to survive on.
brewdad 6y ago
I see it as a bit of both. I don't see myself going to a movie theater anytime soon even if they are allowed to open. Our restaurant spending is 1/3 what it used to be. A tank of gas lasts almost a month rather than a week. I used to go grocery shopping every week with at least one additional trip to grab one thing I needed. Now I go every 2 weeks and don't make a special trip unless we absolutely can't make anything without that missing ingredient. All kinds of jobs are at risk in this type of environment. Service will be hit hardest but there are ripple effects that will impact pretty much everyone to some degree.
ikeyany 6y ago
I was referring to the notion of "bullshit jobs", optimizing for leanness, and neglecting societal safety nets.

uoaei 6y ago

Have you ever been in a grocery store outside the US? Am I really the one disconnected? The grocery stores obviously don't care about unemployment stats, but federal government incentivizing "job creation" without getting into specifics about the utility, necessity, etc. of those jobs is a real problem. Everyone who drives for Uber has a "job" but that is hardly anything to survive on.

brewdad 6y ago

I see it as a bit of both. I don't see myself going to a movie theater anytime soon even if they are allowed to open. Our restaurant spending is 1/3 what it used to be. A tank of gas lasts almost a month rather than a week. I used to go grocery shopping every week with at least one additional trip to grab one thing I needed. Now I go every 2 weeks and don't make a special trip unless we absolutely can't make anything without that missing ingredient. All kinds of jobs are at risk in this type of environment. Service will be hit hardest but there are ripple effects that will impact pretty much everyone to some degree.

ikeyany 6y ago

I was referring to the notion of "bullshit jobs", optimizing for leanness, and neglecting societal safety nets.