Series: The Moral Injury of Late Capitalism

Part One: Welcome to Moe's! Or, Aziz Ansari Explains It All.

I asked the nice young woman darting between the grill and register why they were so obviously short staffed. She took a deep breath, looked at me, and tried not to cry.

Increased Productivity Is a “Good” Economic Indicator. But “Good” For Whom?

“Productivity” is defined as the average income or output generated in an hour of work in the economy. Although worker productivity has been slowly declining it was reported today that the 3Q of 2023 recorded the fastest growth in productivity in three years.

We are told that reports such as this represent “good economic news;” there is cause for celebration. Decreased aggregate labor means more leisure time and lower labor costs, thus mitigating creeping inflation concerns. Everyone wins!

Everyone wins except, perhaps, for the worker who is pressured to be more productive for the same wages.

Welcome to Moe’s!

Moe’s is a successful restaurant franchise. It takes a minimum of 5 staff to properly run one, especially in the age of Grubhub. I recently …