It was implied. Why else would you use that argument in responding to ridgeguy's comment about using human-run checkout lines? What machines would you point to

It was implied. Why else would you use that argument in responding to ridgeguy's comment about using human-run checkout lines? What machines would you point to as making the world worse? In any case, since it bothers you so, you explained the situation yourself: "The self-checkout is there because it is cheaper than a cashier." It's an error to equate "cheaper" to "increase in standard of living" because the people benefiting from the reduction in cost are usually not the entirety of the community, and it's unfortunate that someone of your caliber accepts such lazy thinking. Over the last twenty years, automation has increased but the standard of living has gotten worse.