[ExI] reasonable what ifs

[William Flynn Wallace]

My wife and I feel really protected:  Medicare is not going under; my
pension is not going under; I have no debt other than a mortgage.  It would
take massive changes in our economy to alter any of that.  I do feel for
people who are out of work.  In other countries,like Britain, people who
are off are guaranteed their jobs back.  Not here.

BTW - online learning doesn't work well according to an article in the
Washington Post.  Over summer students lose large percentages of their math
skills, for one - called summer slide.

bill w

On Wed, Apr 8, 2020 at 10:28 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

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> > *On Behalf Of *William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat
> *Subject:* Re: [ExI] reasonable what ifs
>
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> >>…What I am doing is envisioning a new normal where people generally
> don’t do the high-luxury stuff nearly as much…spike
>
> >…Lotsa luck getting people to lower their standards of living
> voluntarily.  What you describe would appear to most folks as what went on
> in the Depression (which was far worse, but they don't know that).  If
> people can afford luxuries, they will buy them - ditto all the other things
> you mention.
>
> Most people out there are not minimalists like you , Spike.
>
> bill w
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> Of course.  I am not suggesting any form of personal austerity would be
> voluntary.  I am envisioning people who once worked in businesses much more
> in demand (higher end restaurants for instance) transitioning in to fill a
> much greater need that pays less (boxing groceries for delivery.)
>
> Perhaps one of the biggest transitions will be dependent on one’s debt
> load.  I have always considered it a very bad idea to carry debt beyond
> what is necessary.  Carrying debt bets on the future being like the past.
> That works, right up until it suddenly doesn’t.  But the lender still wants
> and fully expects her regular payment in full on time even if your salary
> suddenly dropped to half what it was before.
>
> spike
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