Waffle House rubbed my face in the future this morning. Three cooks were manning the grill, one of them was working hard the other two were staying afloat at their assignments. Four servers were running the tables/bar. It was a mad house. The servers were struggling to clear tables, serve food, take orders, and even make coffee. At one point when the place was bogged down to a stand still with about eight plates of food ready for delivery and getting cold, a couple tables needing cleared, everyone in the place needing coffee, the primary cook went to the coffee pot to get himself a cup. It was empty. The two pots on top were empty. He howled in frustration. He walked to the other end of the galley and all three pots there were empty and he howled again.
This is where it got good. The main chef, wearing his super cook shirt, howls how they have four servers and six pots, but it seems like he said eight, and no one is making coffee? Who is serving the coffee and what is happening to the customers if the cook cant even get coffee!? I was sitting at the bar and had first row witness privileges. This cook, who we will just call Chef then opened up both barrels. He pointed at all four servers, three female and one male and gave them the business for not doing their jobs cleaning, wiping, delivering, and taking orders. He grabbed all eight plates of food that had been sitting there for minutes and called out to find out whose food it was. Customers raised their hands and he delivered all eight plates.
He was not done. He took the clean dishes and restocked all the shelves. he restocked the eggs, he did not make coffee, but he embarrassed the servers who were struggling to do their jobs and then returned to the grill after unbinding the stoppage. My server then went over to him and began whispering her displeasure at his display. This is the second or third time I have had her as server and she has not improved. I understand not everyone is bright and this gal's bulb is pretty dim so i exercise patience. Server at WH is one of those jobs a gal like her can have and do really well with when you consider tips, but you have to do it well, which she doesn't. I still gave her a 33% tip because I felt sorry for her, but it got me thinking.
What are people like her and the other servers going to do in the near future? My server is pretty much unemployable. Almost all jobs she would historically have at her disposal are being eliminated on a daily basis by automation and illegal aliens. WH is probably the best option for her and she is not very good at it. Where does this leave her in the future? She will still need to eat. What is she going to do?
The very near future is coming full steam ahead and I do not think many who are going to be most affected by it are ready and it got me thinking.
1. What is going to happen when the US only needs maybe 25-30% of the workforce it has now?
2. What will the 70-75% of unemployed people do when they cannot get a job?
3. Will they pass the Universal Basic Income and then add requirements? Think of assigning a section of highway or a block of road to keep clean to "earn" your UBI.
4. What will happen to the universities when there is no need for 99% of their graduates? (just made that number up)
I think we will have an even more blatant two tier system. Primary schools will identify people of promise. These kids will be separated from the masses and groomed for engineering and science to keep things humming. All the rest will attend school as a day care system where they will learn about genders, pronouns, and how best to be gay. Most of these people will be sterilized through inoculations and other means so they do not reproduce and their existence will only be tolerated as long as they do not cross the tracks to the elite neighborhoods.
In 1 Chronicles 23-27, we see the people of Jerusalem with their work assignments based on family tree. I see its return coming. You and your family man the east gate. You and your family keep the gutters on the playhouse clean. You and your family empty the garbage and on and on. I see a hideous future coming for most people and I will almost certainly be in this class of people.