This is a photo that accompanies an article about a Hyundai plant in Alabama. In the battle for the "soul" of manufacturing, it seems technology has won---At least in the auto industry. I can spot only one worker! The graph below shows that while manufacturing output is increasing, employment in manufacturing is declining. Not enough attention is paid to this issue. How much of the manufacturing job loss is for this reason and not off-shoring? Is it much different for a person to lose a job to a machine than to some "foreign worker"? On the one hand we want to tax/punish businesses for sending production line jobs overseas but, on the other hand, we give tax CREDITS to domestic businesses to purchase technology that will, well, eliminate jobs on the production line...Hmm...That is two postings from me today on Irony...
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| Source: Carpe Diem |
In my opinion, this could be seen as a good sign for America's future. If people want jobs, it forces them to get a better education to work in fields that either manage or build these robots. Where is the graph showing the increase in computer/technology related jobs? That might give some indication to this.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the harm in using less human labor and using machines to do the dirty work..unless the machines start to have a mind of its own and start killing people..but hopefully that won't happen! Its amazing how over here, there's tons of capital goods making a more advanced future. While in poor countries, humans have to suffer the hard work of labor for so little pay. When I was visiting Vietnam, that was all I saw. I surely hope they would one day be advanced in technology like right here.
ReplyDeleteBrandon has a valid point that I was going to address. While there may be less people actually assembling the automobiles, new jobs are being created in categories that didn't even exist a quarter century ago.
ReplyDeleteAlso, while learning about production possibilities frontiers, it seems I recall us learning that increased technology and producing products for cheaper increases the production possibility frontier (which I'm assuming is beneficial to the country); we can now produce more goods for cheaper compared to other countries (although their lack of labor laws doesn't help us...); our product becomes more desirable and our dollar appreciates in the FOREX.