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Next step: ban automation.

toomuchtodo 4y ago
Well, not necessarily, you simply tax it at a highly progressive rate and distribute the tax revenue as social services. Automation isn't the problem, its control and use to create systems of extraction from the disadvantaged is.
- HPsquared 4y ago
  An automatic McDonalds is a not a system of extraction.
  - Xelynega 4y ago
    It quite literally is. A non-automated McDonalds extracts money from a certain population(the target market of the McDonald's) and funnels it to the owner, but the owner has to employ people(typically from the same area/market) to give some of that money back to. Without those jobs, money is being extracted from the target market without any being given back.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  Never tax automation. The failure to distribute resources humanely or fairly is a failure of sympathy, conscience, and justice. Automation should make us all richer. Not having to work customer service is a blessing. Tax everybody at the rate that allows us to provide for those who are put out of work by automation, and let those who automate reap the rewards of that. It's not technology's fault that we require people to do bullshit jobs in return for bullshit pay. It's that our secular religion of protestant capitalism is severely flawed. One day, all production will be automated, and 99% of the population will still be digging holes and filling them all day in return for their rations.
  - toomuchtodo 4y ago
    We sort of agree? I suggest taxing automation heavily and distributing the resulting gains broadly because the marginal costs are so low, versus human labor, which should be scarce and highly valued. You have to tax differently because different productivity mechanisms have different societal value (not economic, importantly). There is a short story or proposal I recall consuming a long time ago about different types of money, one for things with no or low marginal cost, and one for things produced by humans. The former money would be printed and distributed somewhat freely, the latter not. Similar idea. If someone recalls a link to this idea, please comment!
    - Jochim 4y ago
      Taxing automation could incentivise having people work jobs that could be automated. We already have a lot of pointless jobs in the charade that we continue with.

Well, not necessarily, you simply tax it at a highly progressive rate and distribute the tax revenue as social services. Automation isn't the problem, its control and use to create systems of extraction from the disadvantaged is.

HPsquared 4y ago
An automatic McDonalds is a not a system of extraction.
- Xelynega 4y ago
  It quite literally is. A non-automated McDonalds extracts money from a certain population(the target market of the McDonald's) and funnels it to the owner, but the owner has to employ people(typically from the same area/market) to give some of that money back to. Without those jobs, money is being extracted from the target market without any being given back.
pessimizer 4y ago
Never tax automation. The failure to distribute resources humanely or fairly is a failure of sympathy, conscience, and justice. Automation should make us all richer. Not having to work customer service is a blessing. Tax everybody at the rate that allows us to provide for those who are put out of work by automation, and let those who automate reap the rewards of that. It's not technology's fault that we require people to do bullshit jobs in return for bullshit pay. It's that our secular religion of protestant capitalism is severely flawed. One day, all production will be automated, and 99% of the population will still be digging holes and filling them all day in return for their rations.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  We sort of agree? I suggest taxing automation heavily and distributing the resulting gains broadly because the marginal costs are so low, versus human labor, which should be scarce and highly valued. You have to tax differently because different productivity mechanisms have different societal value (not economic, importantly). There is a short story or proposal I recall consuming a long time ago about different types of money, one for things with no or low marginal cost, and one for things produced by humans. The former money would be printed and distributed somewhat freely, the latter not. Similar idea. If someone recalls a link to this idea, please comment!
  - Jochim 4y ago
    Taxing automation could incentivise having people work jobs that could be automated. We already have a lot of pointless jobs in the charade that we continue with.