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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GraceZ who wrote (64277)	6/21/2006 11:30:06 AM
From: UncleBigs	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

We've reached the point in the u.s. economy where we need debt induced speculation and consumption to keep the system intact. We have a workforce concentrated in mortgage brokers, real estate agents, remodeling contractors, Starbucks baristas, Wal Mart greeters, manicurists, and speculators. Who's at the top of the economic foodchain? Hedge fund traders. That about says it all. Robotics aren't a threat to the u.s. economy. Who needs robots when you have a billion Chinese who will work for $1 per hour?

To: GraceZ who wrote (64277)	6/21/2006 7:44:53 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

It turns out clerks aren't obsolete, just the duties and equipment they use is different. It is capital equipment which has made people more productive. And the clerks aren't worth as much either since any idiot can do the job. Of course that frees up the "good jobs" to be paid more. Those "god jobs" will stay in the US because we are brilliant, right? Oh, not to worry we will do the R&D stuff here and just outsource the programming. Oh, wait a second where did that R&D go? Yes, every productivity change has increases the ease at outsourcing jobs from the US and concentrating the wealth at the extreme top end. That is a simple statement of fact and the progression will keep on until the general population "snaps". We are starting to see that right now with protectionist measures such as building a wall along Mexico. With education costs rapidly outstripping peoples ability to pay for them we run the risk of becomming second rate on education as well. So while you can tout your correct statement that more jobs will be created out of this technology I will tell you that fewer and fewer people in the US will benefit from it. The US standard of living is due for a fall, for the first time ever as a result. Too much debt and no ability to pay it because of outsourcing. Oh, by the way. If you havent noticed, they are trying to eliminate clerks too with self checkouts. One person watching can replace 3 clerks. The only thing holding this up is potential for fraud to increase (fail to accidentally scan one package of T-Bones (easy enough - just stack two packages on top of each other and run them thru and the store will lose heavily). Of course if few people do that the system will pay for itself. Of course the cure is easy. Just come up with a tag that beeps if it was not scanned. Then again that is too hard. Why not just push a shopping cart thru at once and have the system read the entire cart. Boom - checkout in seconds and fraud eliminated unless tags are removed. Clerks? Who needs em? McDonalds is already working on having order takers on driveups be from India. Why not? Who needs those jobs anyway. It will free up those clerks for the more important job of ??????? Yes Grace with each boom there are winners and losers and each boom creates jobs......... SOMEWHERE. That is the key isn't it? Other than housing which HAS to happen here, what technology are we creating that does not make it easier to outsource or to do jobs with fewer people. Of course in 20 years there will be another "new thing" that might change these dynamics, but for now, we are creating an economy of clerks while at the same time trying to eliminate clerks. Mish