Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure

Usually they don't say the quiet part out loud, and yet here we are.

We're incredibly fortunate in tech that we can do a large portion of work remotely, many people aren't so lucky. One would think that we'd value life above profit but lately that doesn't appear to be the case.

Risk vs. Reward. It's truly sad for those who can't work remotely and have to soon choose between risking their lives (or family members for that matter) vs. getting paid. Now that the stimulus is to be passed soon, I also wonder how many people would voluntarily quit and just file for unemployment. So many uncertainties ahead...

This shouldn't be surprising to anyone.

Billionaires are billionaires because of the extreme disproportionate gains by the few at the expense of thousands/millions.

They're used to seeing the many slave away for their interests.

Not seeing that happening now is throwing their view of proper world order into chaos and they're not used to be back in a position without control.

What if, at the tail end of all this, a bunch of people find that they've tried remote work and decided: "Hey - this fucking rules!" In part because they've realized that they can complete their core work duties in less time, with less distractions, and zero commuting.

Maybe - just maybe - this could be the unplug that helps people prioritize the things that they enjoy over their work.

I recognize that's a viewpoint that represents immense privilege. I'm in a job where I'm capable of working remotely. But it'd be a neat thing for people like me to be able to leverage.

I'm using my quarantine time to read Piketty's "Capital in the 21st century". I'm actually pretty sure I'm _not_ going back to work if it risks my health.

And it is obvious that the rentiers of our economy want the non-rentiers to go back to work. The rentiers actually have little to lose. The article states they might get sick, but if we're being realistic, they are very well sheltered against the collapse of the healthcare system when they would, unlike the rest of us.