Re:The Full Automation Fallacy
by lotsofpulp on Sunday February 07, 2021 @07:34AM
(#26054590)
> Automation increases your productivity and thus increases the amount of value you can produce.
But not the price you can sell at, unless the demand curve also shifts in proportion to the increase in supply.
> Those burger flippers are compensated poorly because you need a lot of them to run a restaurant that serves cheap food.
They are compensated poorly because there exists other supply of burger flippers willing to flip burgers at that level of compensation, and because burger purchasers are only able/willing to pay a certain amount for burgers.
> You still need proper government policies that drive unemployment down to reap these benefits.
You need government policies to restrict the supply of labor because the increase in supply of labor is not being met with a proportional increase in demand for labor. Hence overtime, vacation leave, parental leave, minimum age, taxpayer funded education, etc.
But not the price you can sell at, unless the demand curve also shifts in proportion to the increase in supply.
> Those burger flippers are compensated poorly because you need a lot of them to run a restaurant that serves cheap food.
They are compensated poorly because there exists other supply of burger flippers willing to flip burgers at that level of compensation, and because burger purchasers are only able/willing to pay a certain amount for burgers.
> You still need proper government policies that drive unemployment down to reap these benefits.
You need government policies to restrict the supply of labor because the increase in supply of labor is not being met with a proportional increase in demand for labor. Hence overtime, vacation leave, parental leave, minimum age, taxpayer funded education, etc.