When the pandemic started I had a thought that perhaps it might be
good in the long-term, despite being horrific in the short-term for
many. Here is what I was thinking (these apply to the US and/or
Canada, the two countries I have lived in, but I suspect these
observations could apply to many countries):
- Job loss would be ameliorated by UBI after societal acknowledgment
that yes, many people's jobs are complete bullshit.
- The US would finally realize that tying healthcare to one's job is
nuts, and join the rest of the world with 'Medicare for All' or
some other public healthcare offering.
- Essential jobs would be recognized as such and pay/benefits would
rise accordingly (healthcare, elder care, food harvest, storage
and distribution, public utilities, public safety, etc).
- Companies would finally realize that endless economic growth is
not possible or desirable.
- Global stock market collapse and financial uncertainty would
return us to a time where saving money, rather than spending it
was considered a virtue (and yes this assumes some amount of
inflation, forcing the hand of central banks to raise interest
rates).
- Remote work/education would become the norm, on-site reserved for
those who must work that way (typically just the essential jobs
noted above).
- In support of remote work or education, countries would begin to
fund broadband internet access in remote regions and subsidize it
for the poor anywhere.
Sadly, I think none of these things will come to pass. The
counter-example to all of these is the US, which, outside of a few
regions, has collectively given up on the pandemic and resumed
business as usual, grim reaper be damned. In Canada we saw some
token changes like pay increases for grocery workers, but those have
since been rolled back. Global stock markets did not collapse -
central banks have just printed and loaned money with abandon, and
have cut interest rates to near zero, encouraging debt rather than
savings.
One thing I've noticed here in Canada is that most people long for a
return to "normal", as destructive as that was and is. They don't
seem to be able to conceive of something better. Government backers
and lobbyists in the form of large corporations and the uber-wealthy
certainly have an incentive not to change things, and continue to
influence mass media outlets, including social media. In a lot of
cases there are no good options for people who lose their jobs or
become ill. My naivete was that the pandemic would force the hands
of governments to enact meaningful, long-term change, when it did
nothing of the sort.
