It's probably more that the old pre integrated circuit and transistorized phone network would have probably better survived an EMP. Since you were basically talking about a bunch of mechanical switches and relays. Copper phone networks from the 70s to today would probably be just an vulnerable to EMP as fiber since they rely on integrated electronics.

Why would stock buy backs be illegal? When you go public you're basically getting a giant loan from the stock buying public. Buying back stocks is essentially paying off that loan. If you can manage to buy back all the stocks then you're a private company again.

$30? WTF is that going to get you? I can't even go out for a night and get drunk off that much.

With the amount of public backlash against these things any private property owner with one on their property is probably going to seriously consider if they want the negative attention and or vandalism that comes with having one of these on private property that the public can access.

Just hire a bunch of meth heads and let them keep a portion of their score. The copper will be taken off the poles or dug up faster than you can complete their orientation paperwork.

Depends on the area in the US. In general in wealthy and urban cores the utilities are burred. In general outer central city, suburban, and rural area's utilities generally are found on poles. In general utilities on poles are cheaper to install, easier to locate and repair faults, but tend to be vulnerable to weather

I think generally the last to move their utility off the pole is responsible for its removal and disposal. Around here when the power company puts up new poles, They'll drop the new pole right next to the old one. Move over their power lines then chaninsaw the old pole just above the telephone and cable lines. It's up to those utilities to move their services to the new pole and the last one to get around to doing it also gets the task of removing and disposing of the old pole.

And extended unemployment is not being paid to not work. It just extended the length of time you could be on the govt dole. Most places unemployment won't even cover monthly realistic living expenses. In my state of Florida unemployment is only $250 a week. I guarantee you there isn't a person living on their own that can afford rent/mortgage, utilities and food for $1200 a month. Not to mention other expenses that don't just go away cause you're not working like any loans, car payments, insurance. In many places just selling the car isn't an option, if the place doesn't have robust public transit, then finding work and getting to work without a car is basically impossible.

People we not literally paid not to work.There was no way to actually comfortably live off the stimulus money that was given out. The purpose of those stimulus checks was right in the name, to stimulate the economy.

WTF is OP smoking? Walmarts won't go near major cities? Theres literally probably a dozen full on walmarts and several walmart neighborhood markets in my city. And thank god they started limiting item counts at self checkout. They should have always been limited to 10-15 items. No more than you can carry in a hand basket. It's infuriating when you have 1 or a couple items and you're stuck waiting behind someone who's purchasing a heaping cart full prepping for the apocalypse. And watching them figure out how to juggle the items they've already rang up vs what's left in the cart when they run out of space on the bag platform.

This is why a lot of chronic diseases will NEVER have cures. It's more profitable to treat than to cure. Treat someone over a lifetime and milk 100k out of them. Treat someone once and present them with a 100k price tag to pay all at once and the consumer or insurance company will balk at the cost.

Easy credit = UBI. You profit as long as you die before you pay it all back.

I don't think BNPL is going to crash the stock market. AI on the other hand. Good chance once that bubble pops.

Apps like door dash offer BNPL options and i believe some restaurant apps directly offer it as well. When you need to make installment payments on your Big Max Meal maybe its' time to step back and evaluate your finances and choices.

I would imagine whatever entity that remains of OSS could sue the former employee for breaching company data, as well as any other customer of OSS for breech of data, data release, or data loss. I personally wouldn't touch this if I were a former OSS employee without some granting of immunity by the judge, if that's even possible.