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That is a fear fanned by the 0.1% because they need a scapegoat which isn't them for the good jobs which they destroyed. They destroyed them with a combination
by crdoconnor 8y ago
That is a fear fanned by the 0.1% because they need a scapegoat which isn't them for the good jobs which they destroyed.
They destroyed them with a combination of austerity (e.g. not fixing potholes) and outsourcing (e.g. the million odd Chinese not-robots who actually make your iPhone).
All of this happened before in the 1930s - the austerity, the unemployment, the blame placed on automation by a subservient media and even the rise of budget-conscious automated restaurants (e.g. horn & hardart) that are profitable when the population is tightening its collective belt.
Whether we get out of it the same way we did last time - with an end to austerity with a job guarantee that builds necessary infrastructure and fiscal stimulus is purely a matter of wresting power back from the 0.1%.
Then, maybe in 100 years, the cycle will again repeat itself.
- kombucha2 8y agoPlease, bring on the automats.
- crdoconnor 8y agoThey went in to a decline in the 60s and went out of business completely by 1991 - mostly replaced by Burger Kings. Apparently the market only really likes them when people are short of cash. But, they could be making a comeback.