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Sorry, I disagree ... car-pooling is still alive and well and so is the use of public transit where available. And where i live now, the malls are quite busy most of the day. I will agree there are more cars on the road now than in the 50s with the population increase. But I'm sure that even in the 50s, traffic was no picnic in most major metropoles and the road systems were not as good as today.
What specifically is the current admin doing to bring us back to the 50s ? Serious question.
Do you live in a retirement area and the malls are full of mall-walkers while the kids are in school, then full of teens after schools lets out, and none of these people really do much actual shopping?
Saw an article the other day that a new trend in restaurants is renting space and use of wifi during their slow hours, to people who don't go to an office to work, but still need some space and internet access.
I agree. I keep warning my adult kids who are moving into the workforce to stay educated, innovative and nimble. If there's any chance your job can be automated, there's a good chance it will.
Manufacturing jobs in this country are changing radically. I noticed my doctor's office is automating and I recently visited a fast food restaurant that used a pad to order...I loved it.
IMO the alarmist articles being written about automation are similar to the alarmist articles written about computers forty years ago. And we have more jobs than ever today.
Not so much as alarmist but it is hard to say what the next area of employment for the lesser skilled will be.
Not all lesser skilled people are lazy etc. It is these people who will be left behind.
Not so much as alarmist but it is hard to say what the next area of employment for the lesser skilled will be.
Not all lesser skilled people are lazy etc. It is these people who will be left behind.
I remember working with a woman who was a military veteran. Actually, many of us in the office were vets, since it was a federal government agency. Many of us had taken advantage of our VA educational benefits and gotten the degrees and moved up in the ranks.
She spent her career at the "technician" level as a GS 9, while all those other vets were GS-11, 12, 13, and even 14. Some even went into the Senior Executive Service. This woman didn't think her educational benefits were all that important, and didn't think the degrees were all that important. Her decision made a big difference in both her income, and her retirement benefits.
My point is that, no, less skilled people are not necessarily lazy, but some do make some decisions that cost them in the long run.
Retail workers come from every age bracket, usually lower income homes, are low-skill, and studies show that they have relative difficulty finding new jobs when they lose their job. Therefore they are predicting that there will be a strain on the social safety net as millions of these people will be let go for automated cashiers, automated ordering kiosks, automated stockers, automated burger makers, etc...
In the past the economy has grown in manners to absorb these people into new jobs and positions when technology pushes them out -- think all of the farmers put out of work by Cyrus McCormick that then moved into factory jobs, etc... What do you all think this will be? Or is automation different this time? Should our immigration policy, which accepts mostly low skill people - start to consider that automation is set to eliminate low skill jobs.
Americans working as cashiers, burger-flippers, retail clerks and other low-end jobs will end up out in the fields under the wilting sun picking vegetables and driving around to various locations in different seasons all without benefits or healthcare, while the Mexicans will.....well, what's left?
I remember working with a woman who was a military veteran. Actually, many of us in the office were vets, since it was a federal government agency. Many of us had taken advantage of our VA educational benefits and gotten the degrees and moved up in the ranks.
She spent her career at the "technician" level as a GS 9, while all those other vets were GS-11, 12, 13, and even 14. Some even went into the Senior Executive Service. This woman didn't think her educational benefits were all that important, and didn't think the degrees were all that important. Her decision made a big difference in both her income, and her retirement benefits.
My point is that, no, less skilled people are not necessarily lazy, but some do make some decisions that cost them in the long run.
No disagreement at all. The decisions we make whether they are big or small really do matter. Heres one for you.
One young man that I worked- polite, pleasant, barely ever said anything negative about anyone. The type of young adult that is held up to as a "nice young man>" However, His parents did not allow a computer or cable at home even while in high school. He was also required to have a job after school. I suppose he had a choice to disobey his parents re the computer or not get a job so he could stay after school etc.
The point tho, is that it is reasonable to guess that his upbringing which he could not control particularly at a young age, will and has greatly affected his long term chances. Fortunately for him, his uncle worked for the county drain commission and was able to get him hired first as seasonal part-time etc that got him into the county employment system and he is now a fulltime county employee.
These are the type of people that are going to be impacted the most. Decent, hardworking, yet held back by some reason that often is not of their own making.
Do you live in a retirement area and the malls are full of mall-walkers while the kids are in school, then full of teens after schools lets out, and none of these people really do much actual shopping?
Saw an article the other day that a new trend in restaurants is renting space and use of wifi during their slow hours, to people who don't go to an office to work, but still need some space and internet access.
No, don't live in a retirement area but near a large city. And while I'm not at the mall every weekday, I am there enough to see how busy it is and how close the mall is to population center. Of course, it's certainly not as busy on weekdays as is it on the weekends and when school is out.
Won't work. Many people prefer dealing with a computer instead of a person.
While technology is great and makes our lives easier, the social aspects of life are oft forgotten. The more things you can at home on the computer, the less you have to go out and see people. Lots of kids these days are more content staying at home playing video games than actually playing outside with other kids.
Many people prefer the automation, rather than having to deal with other people, and that will increase with the social media replacing people talking. Look at the supermarket self checks, the lines are longer than at those with cashiers.
Yes. I enjoy interacting with pleasant people who like the work that they do, but more and more people in customer service seem to hate their work or are generally incompetent. You can walk into many stores and just watch the employees gabbing to one another, totally oblivious to the customers. At some places to even ask an employee for help is a gamble because they either can't help you or don't want to.
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