Rain Gryphon

How will the world change?

I'm quite sure that manufacturing of critical resources will come back onshore. We *might* (and I think we'd be smart to do so), extend the concept of "onshore" to the UK and the four daughter countries (Canada, America, Australia, and New Zealand). These are the people we should be primarily trading with anyway. These are people we can trust.

If companies are willing to put in the money up front, I'd imagine that most, if not all, of the garment industry could be converted to robots. In addition to simplifying the supply chain, and probably improving changeover times, that would eliminate the recurrent fusses over working conditions, and the PR hits when some factory full of locked-in workers burns down.

Most of the electronics that Foxconn makes could easily be made by robots.

Supply chains for things like meat and produce will certainly shorten, and decentralize. There are any number of small startups now working to grow vegetables in enclosed spaces for local retail.

Prices will increase. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as much more of the money will stay in America (or in the UK+4). The overall COL increase will be modest. Electronics and (good) food may go up more sharply. I don't see the food increases causing any problems. The American poor eat mainly hyperprocessed junk flavoured with salt anyway. Electronics may be more of an issue, as a huge television and a flashy oversized phone that can be replaced every few years are key elements in keeping the poor quiet.

However, wages, especially among the people at the very bottom of the stack, will increase as well, perhaps moreso than prices.

Masks are likely to stay. I'm already seeing them being sold as fashion accessories.

The polycarbonate shields in the stores are likely to remain in place. Self-checkout is going to become more prevalent. I very much fear that the shortened store hours are here to stay. I was seeing stores that had previously been 24 hour closing overnight before this all started.

The world is in the process of becoming a much, much more marginal place for the Third World people. Their Western markets are going to be shutting down, with the consequent loss of jobs, and decline in living standard. They, like us, will become a lot more dependent on buying and selling locally. That may not actually be a bad thing. It may even be that attention will return to the issue of overpopulation, where some lasting good could actually be done.

As tempting as the idea is, we can't cut all aid and trade with Africa. The Congo, especially, has much of the planet's reserves of columbium and (especially) tantalum, along with lots of copper and uranium. South Africa has gold and diamonds.

We'll need to finish the wall with Mexico.