Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach
Sooooo... it is your argument that the accelerated loss of unskilled labor after a minimum wage increase will be small because unskilled labor is already doomed? You don't think doubling the cost of unskilled labor will prompt more businesses to start going the automation route, and tip the scales on McDonald's decision on their automation trials?
Right, it will tip the scales and move up the automation by a small amount. There is already a huge incentive to automate. Machines are easier than low skill, 200-300% turnover labor, even if the cost was neutral. Maybe I'm wrong, but we're both guessing here, and I don't think the choice is "decent wage or NO wage" as you imply. It's a good way to keep wages low until the automation, which is inevitable, happens IMO. But I'm a cynic, what can I say.
The government doesn't build planes and Medicare and SS are doomed... so good job in your examples there, chief! :thumbs:
Well, provide your own, cherry picked ones then.
I'm betting you haven't looked.
Yeah, there are all those good jobs that aren't filled, which is why the unemployment rate is so high, and so many people accept jobs at minimum wage, because there are all these robot making jobs. Give me a break. We've had a few plants open up in Tennessee in the last few years. There are thousands of applications for what are just decent production jobs. People are desperate for decent work.
I asked you what you think we owe them, I never stated my opinion on it. And my response was to your point that automation would kill unskilled jobs when there are no other jobs. Do you think the government owes them a job that sinks to their level? Do you think anyone owes them that? What you propose would kill SKILLED jobs to protect unskilled jobs. In other words, it is societal poison.
I forget how you debate. You said, " If there is a job for Government it is to promote the modernization of the work force." That's clear enough - promote modernization and nothing else. Except now you say provide social services, I guess, but who the hell knows. I think I'll not go down a rathole on this topic, having to parse every statement for the weasel words.
If McDonald's were to automate their cashier system nationwide there would be a billion dollar industry formed over night to supply McDonald's demands and and well paying career jobs to replace the unskilled jobs being lost. You see this as a bad thing, I see this as progress.
OK, so if they replace 100,000 cashiers, how many U.S. jobs emerge to build and maintain the kiosks or whatever? You're making a statement like you've run the numbers. What do they show?