Well, a lot of boomers think office work isn’t real work, a deadweight on the economy, and will turn kids gay thus not making (great-)grandchildren due to not getting dirty and having an air conditioner. The previous system somehow reproduced the toxic Calvinist work morals of capitalist countries, and not only the politically illiterate calls this kind of behavior “communism”, but there’s a very big number of the pensioners, whose votes can be bought by promising more underpaid manual labor to their (grand)children.
The camera thing might be him getting more and more afraid. He’s losing popularity, and even if he crushes popular movements (often by “doomerism”), there are more and more popping up. If the AI bubble burst (which will cause a financial recession) or some of his allies will fall, he can also fall too. He’s a paranoid maniac that goes everywhere in a bullet vest. He just loves his fellow autocrats, especially as he can work together with them.