Technology

They're not thinking that far ahead. They're thinking "how can I make the lines go up this quarter?"

No doubt many of them understand that you need people with enough money to buy products or the economy stagnates. But they don't see it as their problem right now. Their problem right now is to make the line go up by any means they can. It's similar to how the owners must understand that climate change will fuck everyone if left unchecked, but they don't see it as their own problem right now, so none of them take any steps to avoid disaster. Capitalism doesn't contain mechanisms for coordinating actions towards the greater good. Instead it creates many "tragedy of the commons" type situations.

Corps have been complaining for years already that people aren't buying enough. Millenials are killing this industry and that industry because we don't consume enough - "enough" being whatever level they've decided we should consume. They feel entitled to our dollars, whether or not their product or service is any good.

If they were smart, companies would lower prices to be more competitive and incentivize people to buy more. Instead they've doubled down and posted armed guards at the store exits to intimidate the customers they have left. They've slipped data collection into every interaction. It's pretty obvious they're not playing the long game anymore.