[numakerg]

I disagree. It's more of a drought where the smaller trees with low reserves die out, and in the recovery the large trees grow even larger and take up the remaining canopy space.

The economic consequences of the pandemic will make things fundamentally worse for the average person. The wealthiest entities will accumulate even more wealth, because they have the resources to survive, to petition the government for assistance over smaller players, and to buy out the leftover pieces of those who couldn't survive. In the end, the majority of the bailout will go to the rich, because they are the ones with the bargaining power. The result is lower competition, which is worse for almost everybody.

The only upside could be a shifting technological landscape. Work-from-home and physical distancing could create demand for new solutions which would be capitalized by smaller, agile companies, creating new competition. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

EDIT: I don't know if that's how a drought actually works. The demand for new tech is already here, it's a question of whether it will stay long-term.

[joncrane]

In many forest fires, the underbrush burns but the canopy remains intact.