4 ms·

This is muddled thinking. Automated trucks will lower costs for everyone. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/10/10/spoons-shovels/ https://quoteinvestigator.co

by ralfd 1y ago

This is muddled thinking. Automated trucks will lower costs for everyone. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/10/10/spoons-shovels/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/10/10/spoons-shovels/ > If that digging would give work to a hundred men with shovels and picks, why not get a thousand men and give them teaspoons with which to dig up the dirt?”

Braxton1980 1y ago
Do you have evidence that's specific to the automated truck situation?
bgwalter 1y ago
Stereotypical anti-luddite quotes are not thinking. Automation in construction has not led to lower prices, on the contrary, prices are exploding. Automation in car manufacturing has not led to lower prices, cars are still expensive. Automation in health care didn't prevent prices from exploding. If a monopoly emerges, by definition control and prices are centralized. And I really don't want broligarchs that follow the agenda 2025 to control the food chain.
- FirmwareBurner 1y ago
  Automation has led to lower prices of commodity widgets like for example 4K TVs. It doesn't result in lower prices of items and services necessary for survival in modern society which are also subject to regulatory capture like real estate, healthcare and education. In the case of the latter, all advance in technology and automation move to the pockets of shareholders but the cost to the consumer stays the same or even goes up once oligopolies form.
  - bgwalter 1y ago
    Mostly if they are manufactured in Asia and if there is real competition (which is the case in Asia). Much hailed privatization and automation of the postal services in. e.g., Germany has not led to lower prices. 30 years ago mailmen were literally civil servants with expensive salaries. Privatization and automation has just redirected the money to the stock holders. There will be no real competition in trucking once a few large corporations divide up the pie and get special permissions to operate.
- ethbr1 1y ago
  > Automation in car manufacturing has not led to lower prices You can currently get cars for the inflation-adjusted price of a Model T (~$20,000). https://www.cars.com/articles/here-are-the-10-cheapest-new-cars-you-can-buy-right-now-421309/ https://www.cars.com/articles/here-are-the-10-cheapest-new-c... And they include a lot more standard features. Cars aren't cheaper because Americans will buy more expensive cars. The average new car purchase price is up around ~$45,000. (I think buying a new car is dumb, but hey, I'm not the market)
elcritch 1y ago
> Automated trucks will lower costs for everyone. Hopefully so, but it’s not a given. Factors like consolidation, collusion, anti-competitive regulations, etc all can lead to keeping prices high.

by ralfd 1y ago

Braxton1980 1y ago

Do you have evidence that's specific to the automated truck situation?

bgwalter 1y ago

Stereotypical anti-luddite quotes are not thinking. Automation in construction has not led to lower prices, on the contrary, prices are exploding. Automation in car manufacturing has not led to lower prices, cars are still expensive. Automation in health care didn't prevent prices from exploding. If a monopoly emerges, by definition control and prices are centralized. And I really don't want broligarchs that follow the agenda 2025 to control the food chain.

FirmwareBurner 1y ago
Automation has led to lower prices of commodity widgets like for example 4K TVs. It doesn't result in lower prices of items and services necessary for survival in modern society which are also subject to regulatory capture like real estate, healthcare and education. In the case of the latter, all advance in technology and automation move to the pockets of shareholders but the cost to the consumer stays the same or even goes up once oligopolies form.
- bgwalter 1y ago
  Mostly if they are manufactured in Asia and if there is real competition (which is the case in Asia). Much hailed privatization and automation of the postal services in. e.g., Germany has not led to lower prices. 30 years ago mailmen were literally civil servants with expensive salaries. Privatization and automation has just redirected the money to the stock holders. There will be no real competition in trucking once a few large corporations divide up the pie and get special permissions to operate.
ethbr1 1y ago
> Automation in car manufacturing has not led to lower prices You can currently get cars for the inflation-adjusted price of a Model T (~$20,000). https://www.cars.com/articles/here-are-the-10-cheapest-new-cars-you-can-buy-right-now-421309/ https://www.cars.com/articles/here-are-the-10-cheapest-new-c... And they include a lot more standard features. Cars aren't cheaper because Americans will buy more expensive cars. The average new car purchase price is up around ~$45,000. (I think buying a new car is dumb, but hey, I'm not the market)

elcritch 1y ago

> Automated trucks will lower costs for everyone. Hopefully so, but it’s not a given. Factors like consolidation, collusion, anti-competitive regulations, etc all can lead to keeping prices high.