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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (314391)	10/16/2016 2:34:36 AM
From: Gib Bogle	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 542117

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, epicure. It's not enough for people to have jobs and income - although that is necessary - they also want to feel that they are doing something useful and/or creative. Cleaning up the environment, planting trees etc is one opportunity. Another is looking after old or sick people who do not have anyone to care for them. Teaching English or other useful skills. There are probably lots of things people could do, but it would require a very radical change in thinking.

To: epicure who wrote (314391)	10/16/2016 7:06:45 AM
From: stsimon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 542117

The elitist perspective is symptomatic of why the Democrats are not up by 40 points. We have a higher educational system that is geared to the brilliant and the rich. People who used to work in semi-skilled manufacturing jobs are perfectly capable of contributing to our manufacturing base if we just deal with a trade system that rewards companies for finding the lowest wage countries with the weakest environmental standards. India and China are prime examples but there are many others. Free trade is a loser. Open borders are a loser. We need to regulate both in a reasonable way. Europe is going to be torn apart if unrestrained immigration is allowed to happen there. We need to avoid that here. tariffs should be used to adjust foreign countries wages and environmental standards to our own. That will have the beneficial effect of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the united Stated while giving countries an incentive to clean up their environment. We should be providing much more skills training at no cost to the students. It is much cheaper to pay the freight up front to enable someone to develop a financially valuable skill than it is to not do it. This is not rocket science.

To: epicure who wrote (314391)	10/16/2016 7:46:09 AM
From: bentway	Respond to of 542117

We can bring back servants for the robot owners and other wealthy as being a classy thing to have. Return to sedan chairs. It's easier if you think of them as jobs for Trump voters.

To: epicure who wrote (314391)	10/16/2016 9:21:35 AM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 542117

A couple of quick thoughts on this one. The government could provide incentives for new job growth in areas of the country hit hardest by globalization. Not make work stuff; real, productive jobs that provide both income and a sense of self worth. Second, the government could put in place a series of policies which reduce income inequality via taxes and use the money to strengthen a well torn safety net. And third the government could work out a more sensible immigration policy. And, finally, trade deals could be better fashioned to provide longer transition times for threatened US industries.

To: epicure who wrote (314391)

10/16/2016 1:49:52 PM

From: koan

Respond to of 542117

I agree.

Today on Fareed Zakaria, they are talking about giving everyone a set amount of money each year as robotics is replacing workers so fact.

We need income redistribution, and we need to keep people out of abject poverty, so that is one way to do it.

I just heard one advocate say: "Half of America cannot find $400 if they need it?

<<

You can think about it all you want- but there's very little to be done about it. Automation and offshoring will probably continue to be issues for jobs that require little creativity or brains. So really, the question is, what do we do with stupid, marginally employable people? I think you have to create jobs for them. Embrace inefficiency and have 2 or 3 people do the work of one- to keep people employed, and moored to, and invested in, society. We could also make work in our cities- employing people to keep them constantly cleaned. And why not have bathroom attendants in buildings? I like that aspect of European bathrooms. Let's charge everywhere there are toilets, put out tip plates, and employ people to attend bathrooms. Bathrooms will be nicer and people will be employed. This stuff is simple- but it requires a will to employ people rather than strip the work force down to skeletal levels. It will represent a different way of thinking. It would be the correct thing to do to make people feel valued and included in our society- but those goals have never been highly prized in our society, so we may not be able or willing to prize them now.