Wait so then does playing a game that maxes out my GPU for two hours use enough power to charge 1000 smartphones?

Because that’s a lot.

hopefully this is just a ‘blip’ and rates of theft begin to fall again as the economy recovers.

If not, we can expect to see legal channels raising their prices again to cover the losses caused by piracy.

This is a crazy thing to write. Every streaming service already has their prices set at whatever they think will maximize profit. If they raise prices in response to piracy, they’ll push even more people away.

If anything, piracy will serve as competition, and it will cause the streaming services to lower prices.

Reminder for everyone that when there are efforts to change the system and have employers pay higher wages instead, the majority of workers are vehemently against it.

You’ll see people in this thread telling you that it’s not the workers’ fault, and that taking it out on the workers by not tipping is not fair, as if they’re victims of the system.

Most pressure to maintain the system (or add tips to new industries) comes from the workers, and I feel that not tipping is entirely appropriate if you want it to change.

When the workers themselves start clamoring for raising wages and getting rid of tipping culture, I will empathize with them more.