COVID Economy

[jesmu84]

https://time.com/6139127/u-s-food-prices-monopoly/

[MU82]

From WaPo:

Some 4.3 million people quit or changed jobs in December — down from last month's all-time high but still near record levels, as the labor market remained unsettled and the omicron variant swept through the United States.

Employers reported some 10.9 million job openings in survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, well above pre-pandemic averages.

December proved to be an incredibly disruptive month for the labor market.

Parents scrambled to navigate their work lives as schools and day cares closed because of growing virus cases. Employees grappled with sudden outbreaks at work, with little of the social safety net protections or pandemic-controlling measures that helped cushion the blow from earlier waves. And the vaccine-evading omicron variant shook the nation's confidence that a future without the virus was on the near horizon.

These forces magnified the desire for many workers to quit their jobs. At least four million workers resigned each month during the second half of 2021, with many of them departing to find work that had better pay, benefits, or more flexible schedules.

While the pandemic initially marked by mass joblessness — more than 20 million people lost their jobs in the earliest days of the pandemic, many temporarily — 2021 was defined by a strong labor market recovery as well as complaints by employers about difficulty finding available workers.

That shortage has meant that many companies have been racing to compete with each other for workers, raising wages, adding cash bonuses and sweetening the pot in other ways to try to attract applicants. And that in turn has created a climate for workers to have more leverage and options than perhaps any other time in recent history.

Nick Bunker, an economist at the jobs site Indeed, said that the data showed that the omicron did not have a big effect on demand for workers in December.

"It really paints this picture of a job switching boom," he said.

[The Sultan]

Parents scrambled to navigate their work lives as schools and day cares closed because of growing virus cases. Employees grappled with sudden outbreaks at work, with little of the social safety net protections or pandemic-controlling measures that helped cushion the blow from earlier waves.

I just don't think this is accurate.  The child tax credit payments certainly made it easier for someone to quit working temporarily to manage these issues.

[MU82]

I just don't think this is accurate.  The child tax credit payments certainly made it easier for someone to quit working temporarily to manage these issues.

OK, duly noted. I'm just the messenger on this one.

[Jockey]

I just don't think this is accurate.  The child tax credit payments certainly made it easier for someone to quit working temporarily to manage these issues.

I think a bigger reason for all of the open jobs is that high school age kids aren't working nearly as much because their parents don't want them exposed to Covid (or bringing it home). I see restaurant after restaurant begging for people to hire, or limiting hours because they can't get low wage workers to take a job.

[The Sultan]

I think a bigger reason for all of the open jobs is that high school age kids aren't working nearly as much because their parents don't want them exposed to Covid (or bringing it home). I see restaurant after restaurant begging for people to hire, or limiting hours because they can't get low wage workers to take a job.

I think that is a good observation as well.

[Dr. Blackheart]

I think a bigger reason for all of the open jobs is that high school age kids aren't working nearly as much because their parents don't want them exposed to Covid (or bringing it home). I see restaurant after restaurant begging for people to hire, or limiting hours because they can't get low wage workers to take a job.

High school kids aren't the reason for the restaurant labor shortage it's the gig economy where people make $30 per hour working when they want to. Restaurants have stayed alive solely by these workers.

[jesmu84]

The good news is a multitude of groups are pushing for more high school/teen labor opportunities

[Jockey]

High school kids aren't the reason for the restaurant labor shortage it's the gig economy where people make $30 per hour working when they want to. Restaurants have stayed alive solely by these workers.

It's a combination of both.

Surprisingly, when I am in a restaurant, the vast majority of Door Dashers, etc. are not teenage kids. Overwhelmingly men and women in their 30s and 40s. On the other hand, my 18 yo grandson quit going from job to low paying job and is doing Door Dash - avg. about $25 hr.

[MU82]

Wait ... I thought the reason for all of the economy's ills were freeloaders eating bon-bons and collecting unemployment benefits.

[rocky_warrior]

Surprisingly, when I am in a restaurant, the vast majority of Door Dashers, etc. are not teenage kids. Overwhelmingly men and women in their 30s and 40s. On the other hand, my 18 yo grandson quit going from job to low paying job and is doing Door Dash - avg. about $25 hr.

Most of my Uber drivers the past few months have been 40s, 50s, and even 60s.  But every business I've been too is obviously short of staff.  Though generally the staff they do have seems to be younger.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I think a bigger reason for all of the open jobs is that high school age kids aren't working nearly as much because their parents don't want them exposed to Covid (or bringing it home). I see restaurant after restaurant begging for people to hire, or limiting hours because they can't get low wage workers to take a job.

In the same vein, the kids are too busy to work while in high school.  My kids wanted to, but I honestly don't know where they had time to?  They seemed way busier than when I was in high school.  I only worked Friday nights and weekends, but my kids were seriously spending a lot of time on homework over the weekend.

[Dr. Blackheart]

John Hopkins: Lockdowns had little to no affect on mortality but had adverse effects on the economy and society.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/johns-hopkins-study-lockdowns-had-little-to-no-effect-on-covid-19-mortality-but-had-devastating-effects-on-society

[Jockey]

John Hopkins: Lockdowns had little to no affect on mortality but had adverse effects on the economy and society.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/johns-hopkins-study-lockdowns-had-little-to-no-effect-on-covid-19-mortality-but-had-devastating-effects-on-society

We never had a lockdown - we had partial lockdowns which some observed and some didn't.

[JWags85]

We never had a lockdown - we had partial lockdowns which some observed and some didn't.

If you had actually read it, it literally says "worldwide" and cites various European examples.  But I'm sure you saw it was a conservative website and dismissed it outright.

[forgetful]

If you had actually read it, it literally says "worldwide" and cites various European examples.  But I'm sure you saw it was a conservative website and dismissed it outright.

I haven't read the article yet, and will. But the one part I did notice, is that the authors of the study were all economists, no medical experts, no epidemiologists, so I'm skeptical of their conclusions.

[MU82]

Rand Paul is encouraging truckers to hurt the U.S. economy by disrupting traffic around the Super Bowl and blocking paths for businesses to operate.

This "medical professional" is willing to see small businesspeople lose considerable money so his cultists can die in anti-vax peace, even if it also affects those who can't get hospital beds that are being taken up by unvaccinated people who get the virus.

If Independents or Democrats encouraged protesters to use their vehicles to block highways in the name of racial justice or any other cause, Rand Paul and his cultists would be ripping them as business-hating socialists.

[4everwarriors]

Man, did someone put $.50 in you today? Nads, you be you, aina?

[jesmu84]

Rand Paul is encouraging truckers to hurt the U.S. economy by disrupting traffic around the Super Bowl and blocking paths for businesses to operate.

This "medical professional" is willing to see small businesspeople lose considerable money so his cultists can die in anti-vax peace, even if it also affects those who can't get hospital beds that are being taken up by unvaccinated people who get the virus.

If Independents or Democrats encouraged protesters to use their vehicles to block highways in the name of racial justice or any other cause, Rand Paul and his cultists would be ripping them as business-hating socialists.

In some states, blocking roads for protests is illegal. I think Florida instituted this law in response to BLM protests. But they also refused to enforce it when Cubans used it

[The Sultan]

I don't even know what they would be protesting here. But I guess they just want to cause chaos for political purposes.

[JWags85]

I don't even know what they would be protesting here. But I guess they just want to cause chaos for political purposes.

Its the Canadian truck drivers protesting vaccine mandates for truck drivers in Canada.  So Paul was saying he'd be in favor of them bringing the protest to the US.  Its kind of silly all around.  As far as I saw there isn't actually a planned protest for the SB as much as saying "they should do that here too"

[The Sultan]

Its the Canadian truck drivers protesting vaccine mandates for truck drivers in Canada.  So Paul was saying he'd be in favor of them bringing the protest to the US.  Its kind of silly all around.  As far as I saw there isn't actually a planned protest for the SB as much as saying "they should do that here too"

Right. That's what I mean. There isn't a mandate here. So what are they protesting exactly?  It's just trying to cause chaos for the sake of chaos.

[🏀]

Right. That's what I mean. There isn't a mandate here. So what are they protesting exactly?  It's just trying to cause chaos for the sake of chaos.

Notice the majority of the trucks are material haulers? Those guys aren't doing anything right now anyway.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

The "Canadian Trucker Protest" is a microcosm of everything wrong in the world. 
The majority of the protesters are NOT truckers.
90%+ of the truckers in Canada are vaccinated.
Seems an equal % of Canadians also want the "truckers" to go home.
The whole stunt is funded.by an extreme right  group (which the Canadian government has  since frozen it's assets).
And they were forcing 5 year old kids to line up and block the road.

[MU82]

Its the Canadian truck drivers protesting vaccine mandates for truck drivers in Canada.  So Paul was saying he'd be in favor of them bringing the protest to the US.  Its kind of silly all around.  As far as I saw there isn't actually a planned protest for the SB as much as saying "they should do that here too"

Yes, except for it's more than "kind of silly." It's incredibly hypocritical and potentially damaging to American businesses small and large, all for purely political BS.

The "Canadian Trucker Protest" is a microcosm of everything wrong in the world. 
The majority of the protesters are NOT truckers.
90%+ of the truckers in Canada are vaccinated.
Seems an equal % of Canadians also want the "truckers" to go home.
The whole stunt is funded.by an extreme right  group (which the Canadian government has  since frozen it's assets).
And they were forcing 5 year old kids to line up and block the road.

Totally nailed it.