4 ms·

Here's the big problem: You're not wrong in that automation is mostly good. But most people who are cheering for automation, or even for overseas cost savings,

by st3v3r 10y ago

Here's the big problem: You're not wrong in that automation is mostly good. But most people who are cheering for automation, or even for overseas cost savings, are not interested in what happens next to those who lose their jobs because of it. And we need to come up with a variety of solutions for that, because there are many different types of people who are losing these jobs. People who are younger are more likely able to be retrained to do something else, but someone who is 50 and nearing retirement is going to need a different approach. Not only will it be harder for them to be retrained, it will be much harder for them to get a job after that retraining.

eru 10y ago
You are writing as if technological unemployment has even been a problem. It just hasn't. (We might see some in the future, but I would bet against it.) Let's look at a recent historic example: The housing bubble employed lots of blue collar workers in construction. The bubble burst, and those jobs went away. But---and here's the crucial part---people forget that unemployment did not pick up: basically those laid off found new jobs. We only got a general uptick in unemployment when the fed's mismanagement turned this minor recession into The Great Recession. See https://www.aei.org/publication/did-the-housing-crash-cause-the-great-recession-no-it-was-the-fed/ https://www.aei.org/publication/did-the-housing-crash-cause-... and just look at the timelines: housing starts (and thus employment in the construction sector) decline by around half between the peak in 2006 and the end of 2007. General unemployment barely budges. Then only in 2008 The Great Recession kicks in, and unemployment takes off. The oft-repeated narrative that when the housing bubble burst, those blue collar workers lost their jobs and never got another one is simply not true. The narrative that those blue collar workers who lost their job during The Great Recession didn't have another job to switch to, that's much closer to the truth. But that Great Recession was entirely avoidable.

by st3v3r 10y ago

eru 10y ago

You are writing as if technological unemployment has even been a problem. It just hasn't. (We might see some in the future, but I would bet against it.) Let's look at a recent historic example: The housing bubble employed lots of blue collar workers in construction. The bubble burst, and those jobs went away. But---and here's the crucial part---people forget that unemployment did not pick up: basically those laid off found new jobs. We only got a general uptick in unemployment when the fed's mismanagement turned this minor recession into The Great Recession. See https://www.aei.org/publication/did-the-housing-crash-cause-the-great-recession-no-it-was-the-fed/ https://www.aei.org/publication/did-the-housing-crash-cause-... and just look at the timelines: housing starts (and thus employment in the construction sector) decline by around half between the peak in 2006 and the end of 2007. General unemployment barely budges. Then only in 2008 The Great Recession kicks in, and unemployment takes off. The oft-repeated narrative that when the housing bubble burst, those blue collar workers lost their jobs and never got another one is simply not true. The narrative that those blue collar workers who lost their job during The Great Recession didn't have another job to switch to, that's much closer to the truth. But that Great Recession was entirely avoidable.