Locked Down, Up or Out?

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay 

[As a departure from my usual stuff and nonsense, this is a quasi-serious post, based on calls I have had with people, fearing the prolonged extension and its aftermath which some futurists are expecting to last several months. I would seriously like you to consider the issues hidden beneath the surface here and please do leave comments and suggestions as to how the affected persons can best deal with things. Please share on your networks.]

The Present Future

The video I viewed today was from a guy who styles himself a 'futurist' - so now I have heard them all, futurists, defeatists, fatalists and evangelists as well as doomsday apologists. This particular guy insists that it's going to be a long time - even if the lock down lifts - to get back any semblance of normalcy. He does "data analysis" and says "years, not months". One Facebook wag posed a question: Once we are back to work -- hope springs eternal -- will we then consider that a Lock Up? It's the natural opposite to Lock Down?  Or could it be Lock Out?  We're Down but not Out!

By now you must have realized that I spend way too much time on social media since I seem to be commenting a lot on what happens there. Today it's about the ups and downs of the present stay at home, call it what you will, for most of us. The commentary is rooted in a couple of recent events, not the least of which is "How will we manage without our earnings?" -- a clear and present danger for us who earn by the hour, through gigs or assignments.

No Cash,  No Carry

My monthly trip to the superstore has been abandoned. My jar of peanut butter has been eked out of existence over the last four weeks. That's when I realized the possible upside of not spending the money I used to. I realised that muesli, popcorn, chanachur are probably not essential items, though I equally suddenly realised that Lizol, handwash and Scotchbrite probably are!  For a large number of locked down people getting by with whatever they have at home or whatever they can have easy access to, the silver lining is the reduced expenditure.  

A friend says he suddenly realized he has saved 20,000 bucks on petrol and taxi bills already.  Another says that the weekly trips to the family restaurant has saved them around 10,000 already. For some of us, the Club is our second home - well bad luck, buddy, stay at your first home as the clubs are going to stay shut for a long time.  In fact, there's a silly video online showing New Year's Eve this year with couples dancing in PPE suits.  Shopping for essentials means things like your favourite tipple, the occasional beer cans, casual snacks are no more on the list.  A quick calculation will give you a brief idea of what you've saved so far.  And I am not factoring the summer holiday getaways or the festivals coming up. Fashion alone will see unused wardrobes crying to be opened again.

On the Other Head

I have been warned once again on WhatsApp, not to have a haircut or shave for three months after the lock down is lifted, because "the barber's napkin touches five noses minimum".  I'm constantly flabbergasted at the extent people will go to research their theories.  Matched closely, of course, by the profusion of 'corona beards' adorning the faces of instagrammers too overworked at home to shave. And at least one beautician advising us in a column on hair, to "let it all hang out" or "let it blossom, let it grow" - future business investments!

Instagram joins Facebook in observing the dearth of selfies and puckered lips on social media. This has been attributed to absence of available salons in the neighbourhood.  In fact, someone has actually done a "study" of how eyebrows would look after the lock down, with some sneak previews, calling them the "new natural".  Another has shared a picture of her array of unused lipsticks.  Look at the potential savings in beauty products!  It's probably only the WFH teachers who invest in some level of make-up, totally conscious that their School From Home kids might be shadowed by a WFH mom, or perhaps dad - hope does spring eternal! 

An Apple a Day

I hope you're investing in an apple a day, if you can find them.  Keep the doctor away, if you can find one.  Hypochondriacs, too, are likely to be temporarily cured.  Medical expenses appear to be under check too - no one wants to risk the doctor unless seriously ill. And if you want to look on the bright side of not using your vehicle, your lungs are being saved too. I know a couple of people who are skipping a meal a day. Apart from the obvious health benefits, they are actually calculating the savings and paying that forward to the less privileged people in the neighbourhood. Or, they are feeding people with their own food. Or feeding stray animals. If this is the purpose of the new savings, I strongly recommend it. Somebody Cares -- no, it's not a new unaccounted fund, just an innocent statement.

Professional Confessional

"We have sinned," say the professionals and small businesses, "We should have taken up jobs".  There are musicians, dancers, entertainers who cannot see an upside in their profession in the near future - as long as clubs and restaurants are closed. There are entrepreneurs, software companies, designers, corporate trainers, consultants, even private tutors who would struggle to find clients. People who, like the daily wage earners, live off their contracts, literally their daily bread. Contrary to the wage earners they are unlikely to get any 'bail out package' from the Government.  Bills remain regular and must be paid on time.  And the bills are not getting any lower.  In fact, more time at home means inflated electricity bills, eating at the home inflates fuel consumption in the kitchen.  Higher internet usage for home schooling, work from home and even watching Netflix can delve into the savings. Add to that the sad fact that bills are not being paid by some of their clients, quoting Covid-19, an easy excuse for everything in the foreseeable future. I'm not sure about death, but there's nothing so sure as taxes, the time approaches.

Future Tense

Seriously, how do such professionals envisage the future? How many computer-based private tuitions can you conduct? How many high quality videos can you make, which people will pay for? Creative talent being exhibited or explored online YouTube or Facebook Live won't fill your coffers, pay the school fees or manage the driver's salary (when he isn't even driving). Not to mention that everyone wants everything free now!

With IT engineers, a WFH extended to July 31 does not pose problems. They can still deliver online in their pyjamas. However, those IT companies have to sell their products and services too, so while development continues at home, the sales and distribution, implementation, field testing and deployment have come to a standstill. Not everything can be done over the Internet.

Various learning evangelists have indicated that now is the time to improve your knowledge, practise a new skill, sign up for a multitude of free courses and similar advice. Works for those with deep pockets and large bank accounts. The rest of us cannot bank upon the banks either. With large sums of money being written off as non performing assets, the average person has reason to worry about his own funds (subject to market risks, you have been warned).

Suddenly it's not about the lower spending and the larger saving, it's about the basic earning.

[I would be most grateful if someone could come up with ideas for earning alternatives for the rest. As one musician friend says, he feels he is a trickster. He has to beguile students into paying fees to sign in -- what future can he show them? Another corporate trainer is busy selling courses online -- excellent quality but where can these courses be used? A software entrepreneur can't pay his employees as old contracts have been put on hold and new contracts are just a dream. Sorry to end this without the usual laugh, but it's real and these people need support.]