Driving from Fond du Lac to Green Bay on Hwy-41 you encounter so many billboards, it feels like you are coming up to the Dells or Branson, MO, or as the very least something noteworthy. While they are "tourist tacky" - they aren't advertising ski shows, McDonalds, or wax museums. Mostly they are for local businesses like car dealerships, teeth whitening, hip replacement, and injury law.
Lately, we've noticed that many are empty or replaced with "Advertise Here" banners. I've also noticed that the number of people I know who have lost their jobs is going up, and the people who have cut back on hours or are worried about losing their jobs is even higher (probably because it includes about everyone I work with).
From a practical standpoint, I know this planet has finite resources which will not stretch to keep a growth economy booming indefinitely. I tell my students this all the time. But I also wonder what it would be like to NOT have a growth economy. What if we all are working less, living off less, and having fewer things? How many jobs will disappear and will they reappear somewhere else? Should they reappear somewhere else?
While I don't know what the future will look like, I kindof hope that as we struggle through these interesting times - we don't emerge with the "supersize me" economy that we had before.
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