Re:Basic income doesn't emphasize divisions between poor and...
by JoeAltmaier on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @10:33AM
(#12390506)
Factory automation today means almost nobody is needed to work factory jobs. And there is no longer a path from the factory floor to technical, engineering or management roles. Just minimum-wage standins for broken/missing equipment (moving a box from one conveyor to another during a rush).
34 million Americans resort to minimum-wage jobs because there's nothing else. This is not a fad or a downturn; its the new normal.
Citation: this article calls manufacturing automation "an explosion" in the last decade. http://www.automationworld.com/manufacturing-trends-2015
0% working for some definitions of work. People want to be and do all sorts of things and will continue to, automation should help us live more comfortably and more gently on the earth, not make us redundant.