I think this is what the average retirement is going to look like for a lot of people in the post pension area. Let’s say it’s a couple old enough to receive social security. They have a combined 450k in retirement savings which means they saved a little here and there but started late and weren’t consistent. 2,000/month each from SS = 4k 1,800/month draw from retirement accounts. Thats a little under 5%. $5800 total to live off of before any tax implications are considered. Not glamorous in any way, but also not starving in the streets. Some may have to move to lower cost of living areas to make it work.
Any employee that is competing with automation in the most direct way, will be first in line for exploitation. Uber is the canary in the coal mine. You know how in 3rd world countries, the rich people have live in “help”, gardeners, drivers, etc? Give it 10 years here and it won’t just be the truly wealthy. Any upper income person will have desperate people willing to provide services for cheap. Now cross reference this with the surly kids who can’t get into UT thread. How do you even plan for that with a 50 year time horizon?
First, I’m not underestimating employment issues. I worked in low income schools most of my career. My argument is more along the lines of them not currently making an income rather than bootstrapping them. Had a driver willing to be pretty open with me recently and he was sleeping in the back of his suburban. Would time out on one app then switch to another. Uber is completely exploiting them with what they pay. When I started doing it part time, the driver got a straight 80%. That has been cut in half (varies some) while expenses have increased drastically. They are mostly working for free.
Is it really putting them out of a job if they can easily replace their uber driving job with a better one? When factoring in their expenses, most are making less than minimum wage. There are exceptions, and some can make it work only driving busy hours, part time, with a reliable car, and another source of income. But that’s not reality for most. Regardless of the choice end consumers like us make, drivers of any type will soon be replaced. Ride share can cut out the 40% they pay to drivers, truckers and their 55 cents a mile will be gone, delivery drivers as well. The insurance will also be MUCH cheaper.
As somebody that drove for uber, those people would be better off finding just about any other job. It’s a terribly exploitative company that pays drivers less than 50% of your fare. Most are desperate and taking instant payouts at the end of each shift. I quit after I ran the numbers and determined that working at McDonald’s would be much more profitable.
II’ve taken a few Waymos in Austin and Atlanta over the last couple of months. They aren’t perfect but I’ll take them over almost all human drivers. The data will eventually show that human drivers are a public health hazard, which will bring a lot of freedom issues into play. Over 40,000 people die in car crashes each year and some initial data suggests that could be reduced by 90%.
On another SWA flight today with no issues. I think my main gripe is now the lack of TVs, phone chargers, etc. We are now paying the same price as other airline, including paying for bags, but don’t get any of the other perks.
All by design. Although I think vouchers will eventually open up the option to turn your kids into snobby religious zealots at a lower price tag. Somebody will fill that void in the market.
On flight 5 of 5. Two very minor delays, no issues with the new boarding process, no bad TSA lines in Austin, Birmingham, or New Orleans. Don’t necessarily love the SWA changes but some of the bitching seems a bit overblown.
You probably already know this but posting for anybody that doesn’t. The ban came from the state level in Texas. There were a few districts that tried to have reasonable policies where kids could check their phones or text their parents at times like lunch. The state sent them corrective action letters and made them very public examples. I agree with the premise of the ban and many educators feel like they got their kids back after fighting with phones for their attention for years. Even quite a few kids have said it’s reduced drama and fomo. But of course the state has to take a good idea and turn it into a political issue to score points by taking things too far.
Counting connections, I have 5 SWA flights this week. Wish me luck. First leg was very smooth and faster than a typical airline. Not saying I love all the changes but once the kinks get worked out, it should be ok. Long term, not being a part of an international network is going to be their biggest drawback for a lot of people. My plan is to use Southwest points for domestic travel and credit card point transfers for international.
I grew up in Tyler before moving to Austin. Flew back once around 1992, but seem to remember it being direct from Austin. Don’t think my mom would’ve turned me loose in DFW to make a connection at 9 years old.
A lot of the anti tourism signs were written in the Catalan language so they were pretty easy to ignore. At the time most of the ire was directed at government officials more than tourists, but that has changed a bit.