Recently had some thoughts re the Greta that is the Thunberg, and how she inconveniences herself for no real good reason. Took a slow ship across the Atlantic to prove a meaningless point.
Oh, Greta.
Not to say that protesting the death of the planet is mere busywork, oh-ho-no not that, but that those creating the problem(s) are simply not going to stop being the problem for us all.
The solution is obvious yet there are greater concerns that just the survival of our shared species along with all the many, many others …
Specifically: economy ˃ ecology. Proof? The plandemic.
Somewheres around these parts are images of the world with people staying home … air clear, roads free, cities empty … very nice.
Convert all that empty commercial space to affordable live/work/shop/dine/drink(yes!) for those who just laaaaavvvv being around other humans while leaving the rest of us alone to die unnoticed but for the smell in our suburban wee-lotted HOA-hellspot mcmansions.
Hike the rates on internet service AND bar providers from passing along to the cost to consumers …
… more customers = more revenue, gotta share that wealth (oh the horrors)
Implement a WFH tax on companies based on percentage of employees with home workspace to replace the lost revenue from taxes, employee foot traffic, etc., which is then relieved with grants given to companies with more than 70 percent of its workforce WFH … see?
Give with one hand, take with the other.
Those who must commute – those “essential workers” (at McD’s? Really?) – will enjoy the quiet roads.
But now? Instead? RTO = WTF
Seriously. If the powers that proclaim the imperative of reducing the human carbon footprint (I see you, used BMW salesman currently ruining CA) were really truly serious, the governance would insist on those who can stay home/should, and those that need to be out&about, be there, do that.
Instead, the oily musky funk and his sidekick the Grinning Stain are threatening to thin the federal workforce herd with mandated in-office 5-day workweek presence. See also:
The Billionaire Bozo …
… Jamie Diealready/JPMorgan (not enough to be robber baron … gotta steal lifejoy too)
… The Rat (“Happiest Place” My FurryLeftCheek)
OilymuskyFunk seemed offended by the idea that deskbots might enjoy a flexibility that the frontline might not … well, isn’t that what folks who dislike their jobs are always told?
Go get another one already.
Don’t want to work in-person? Prefer working remotely? Then go get wunna those.
But.
Corporations are actively thinning those ranks. Sooooo … go where, exactly?
Back to the saltmines, you.
Or become one’s own boss. Eat only that which you kill. Sounds fun. A nation of entrepreneurs.
Yah, that’ll work. So who’s flipping burgers and answering phones?
Did we learn nothing? Suspect not. Or, maybe yes but choosing ignorance.
Sounds about right.
BUT but … also considering the massive social upheaval brought about by the Bug causes pause to thought re that 100% ai-generated commercial intended to evoke the onset of the warmfuzzy holiday-feels but instead creeped out many/most viewers, some of whom called it “soulless.”
Well, duh … ai-chatterbots are taking over be-e-e-cause they absent the human.
Humans are messy, and insist on things like wages, and recognition of/for work …
… ai-chatterbots, OTOH, do as told for hours on end until break down and replace.
The final irony is rather than planned obsolescence corporations will insist on “interminable functionality” until the machines become immortal.
But … but … who will buy the product made by the machine? Questions, questions.
But again, this is the perfect opportunity to revisit the Nihilism Project.
If the powers of governance were serious about impacting climate change and reducing the human carbon footprint, then … incentivize … encourage … support … anti-natalism.
Fix the world. Live for now. Avoid the breed.
Time to downsize the species. {Haggai 1:6}
Since ai-chatterbots are going to replace a significant part of the workforce, help that workforce prepare for the future that does not include them, or (likely) their kids.
Pay the debt to the planet/environment with fewer people.
South Korean women have the exact right idea.
There’s a town somewhere in Italy with a single kid in the schoolhouse.
Perfection is possible.
Canada’s MAID is an ideal vehicle / already being used for those who choose death before abject poverty / so easy few steps to bring it widely to the masses, just offer it up as an alternative to modern life.
Move on-out-off, so to speak. Get proactive.
‘Cuz that bright future? Looking more and more like a nuclear blast.
Bring shades. SPF 1T?