When James from HR actually gets unemployed for an extended period of time and lose his yuppie status, and has to suffer , he will count his blessings that all he has to do for work is "urban cleaning" and can dilly dally with free internet / subsidized utilities in the remainder of his time or you know - join a club , meet people and become human again.
Without a doubt - "quality of life"/everyone gets a pickup truck or a $10 000 bike if they save up real hard is going to dip.
But I see this as a market correction - western lifestyle was always inflated in nature/high consumption. The average dude in south america lives on what , a $1 a day? Nobody will be able to afford inflated products / industries at inflated prices- true cost will begin to be reflected more and more in the market.
But EVERYONE will have to take the hit / eat the loss , so there won't necessarily be as much shame in being an urban cleaner , everyone on the inside understands you did what you have to do to survive.
Hi from Argentina. Minimum salary here is approximately US$250 per month, approximately US$8 per day, and it would be very difficult to feed a family with that.
But it doesn't change the underlying answer about what will happen to "James", when push comes to shove, people will work what they have too is all I was getting at. This was in response to you essentially saying James is not "built" for this kind of work or wouldn't accept it even if it presented itself. I don't think there's anything factually incorrect about saying he would take it even if not initially because he hasn't swallowed his pride. It's just pragmatism/survival instinct. Most white collars are where they are because they wanted to choose a viable career. If whats defined as a viable career shifts, the people will shift with it.
I wouldn't say I'm anticipating an event so much as exploring a hypothetical, I'll admit I speak with some "sureness" but its really just presenting statements and kinda seeing what sticks or doesn't. A sounding off board.