The Way We Live Now

In his Washington Post column David Ignatius announces that the changes in the behavior of Americans will continue after the pandemic is over. He discusses the following ways in which things have changed, probably for good.

Working from home

A report this month by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found that companies had shifted to remote work more than 40 times faster than they expected possible. Interactions with customers for North American companies are now 65 percent digital, compared to 41 percent pre-crisis. Changes made to cope with the pandemic — like moving to cloud computing or online purchasing — are “likely to stick in the long term.”

Changes in consumption

The shock of the pandemic quickly altered some consumer habits. A July report from McKinsey found that Americans were spending more on groceries, household supplies and home entertainment and less on almost everything else. Seventy-five percent said they had changed their shopping behavior, and most said they planned to continue.

Changes in health care

A July study by Accenture of 2,700 patients in the United States and other industrial countries found that 70 percent had canceled or deferred in-person treatment, but that 9 out of 10 thought their care was as good or better than before and 44 percent were using new devices or apps to manage conditions.

Demands for a “stronger safety net” will increase

A September report by the Pew Research Center found that 63 percent of Americans agreed it is the “government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage,” compared with 59 percent a year ago.

And, ending on an optimistic note

Greater support for diversity

A Pew Research Center study found a significant increase since 2016 in the percentage of millennials who believe it’s good that America will soon have a majority of Black, Latino and Asian citizens. The millennial generation is also passionate about the threat of climate change: 92 percent of Biden’s millennial or younger supporters say it’s important; so do 49 percent of Trump’s supporters in that group.

I will limit my remarks on that last to these. The difference between the “Greatest Generation” and the present is that my parents and their peers faced their challenges with courage and determination. Today people are complaining that their needs aren’t being taken care of. Notice the difference? Also, guess what? Not only will America have a majority of black, Latino, and Asian citizens, we’ll have a majority of white, Latino, and Asian citizens. As I’ve been saying for decades, just as “white” meant something different in 1820 than it did in 1870 than it does today, it will mean something different in the years to come than it does now. Most Hispanics will consider themselves and will be white. Just as the Irish, Jews, and Italians do.

Every factor he lists to my eye appears to be an acceleration of pre-existing trends. I’m also curious about what he thinks 30-50% of the population will do if we don’t need waiters, busboys, dishwashers, and laborers. And how we will avoid moral hazard if we increase the strength of the “safety net” and there’s nothing for a large percentage of the population to do. They’re not all going to be Amazon warehouse workers or delivery drivers. Those jobs will be automated.