I forgot to add a comment about this yesterday:

There was a change in USA tax code that lead to many layoffs in the United States. Companies could no longer write off programmer’s salaries and benefits if they were doing pure research. It went from a yearly deduction on corporate tax to something very delayed. Making it effectively gone.

The tax code had been allowed for generations, then suddenly the companies had to actually pay the programmers instead of the federal government reimbursing them

I think it underscores how little each of us understands this very complex society, even when it’s being wrecked