So there's no question that automation creates economic opportunity. If I can get the same product at a lower price, it frees up some of my income to buy somet

So there's no question that automation creates economic opportunity. If I can get the same product at a lower price, it frees up some of my income to buy something else. That creates demand, it is is demand that creates jobs. The problem is that workers aren't fungible. People spend years or even decades acquiring skills, and then technology can automate away what they do, leaving them stranded economically speaking. They need new skills to keep earning because demand has changed. Also on an individual level we all resist change. If you like your life and lively-hood now, and technology threatens that, it's not surprising that people will go Luddite in order to avoid the effort and risk that comes with changing jobs. The answer is to put in place the social institutions necessary for people to be more adaptive and fluid in how they earn a living. Give people a safety net to fall on: social insurance, and a ladder to climb to climb out on: education. Plenty of nations are using parts of this strategy and the data seems clear it works. But it's a difficult sell politically in the US. People here aren't willing to see the taxes they pay as investment toward bettering society as a whole. And to be fair, they're justified in feeling that way since our government's spending priorities are often insane.