5 ms·

I enjoy how you suggest that there might be an social/employment problem but then you proceed to suggest things that will actually eliminate employment.

• throwawaygh 6y ago
  Resource extraction is extremely productive these days. What required thousands of laborers a century ago can now be done with mere dozens of laborers. Replacing coal/LNG with solar and batteries would be a net job creator (and, in the case of solar, distribute the jobs more evenly across the country). Robotic farming is an interesting case. First, successful robotic farming for labor-intensive crops would be a huge deal. Think John Deere v2. Tons of great paying jobs. Try telling Moline, IL that tractors kill jobs. Second, most of the jobs offset by a successful product in this space are migrant jobs; farm workers enter the US for the growing season and then go back to (usually) Mexico once the growing season ends. Without those jobs, the migrant farm workers simply wouldn't migrate into the US. So, you'd eliminate jobs globally, and Mexico in particular would suffer, but the overall employment effect would probably shake out net positive in the USA (because most of the displaced laborers aren't permanent residents). Also, not automating work for the sake of keeping people busy seems... immoral.
  • petermcneeley 6y ago
    You bring some good points but I am more simply contrasting the suggestions (tax incentives for business) with the actual GI bill (massive benefits for millions of people)
    • throwawaygh 6y ago
      Right. So, what are "Ground Infantry" in World War Covid? Apparently not nurses or farm laborers. Nope. Cops with zero accountability. Not hospital workers. Not food producers. Police Union Memebership. All others be beat.
• dirtnugget 6y ago
  Well, universal basic income