The American tech scene would explode in a second Renaissance if the US got basic universal health care as a public right.

@Elucidating or 3/4 of engineers would quit for the farms :clown:

But seriously, there's no end to the reasons we need this.

@khionu Yes I bet a bunch of people would do something they'd instantly regret. But that would be good for the industry. Get the folks who are only here for the cash out.

Those folks aren't always bad, just to be clear. But I'd like to imagine a world where people like their work.

@Elucidating I was more trying to invoke the whole "wisened engineer seeks digital-free solice" meme
@khionu As someone who grew up on a farm, it is my duty to just laugh at folks who think it's the simple life and wish them luck. They need it.
@Elucidating Mood. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I did live in a hunting cabin with barely any electricity for a couple years. No heating, just a wood stove. Barely old enough to form memories of it, but it was... a time.
@Elucidating @khionu retiring to a farm isn't the goal, the goal is to have an escapist fantasy to get through the day.
@ekuber @khionu My friends and I joke about the coffee shop that also sells diy keyboard kits, parts and services you can watch or purchase while you enjoy your meal.
@Elucidating @ekuber This is actually a very good model, I know a *cough* spicy bookshop that did this.

@khionu @ekuber There's a place in San Jose that is kinda like what I want minus the snacks. It's really cute.

https://www.instagram.com/tinykeyboardshop/

@Elucidating @ekuber I think if I were to soft-retire like this, I'd do an embedded coffee shop. Have hermetic enclosures with all the tools inside so people don't have to worry about contamination
@Elucidating @khionu thank you so much for saying this. As a nephew of two farmers and grandson of one, I am infuriated by tech people treating farming for a living as this little vacation. My uncles' broken bodies and empty bank accounts tell another story.
@wwahammy @khionu there are people who can do it. I've seen it done. But yeah, most folks are just looking down on farm labor when it's hard and skilled and often thankless.
@Elucidating @khionu I am hereby demanding that my boss have fresh business cards printed for me with my new title: “Wizened Engineer.”