Isn't high unemployment going to be the future as technology gets better.?

In 1900 8 out of every 10 American workers worked in agriculture.

Now less than 3 in a 100 do.

Do we have 80% unemployment now?

Is our lifestyle far worse or far better now?

Technology increases production..... it does not increase unemployment.

No, because what's happened is that the companies that rely on technology are making things cheaper and cheaper, and they're selling us everything in ugly little plastic boxes. Eventually people will get tired of that and we'll see a revival of the Arts & Crafts movement, which was originally a reaction to the tacky, manufactured goods of that era (which are artisan quality compared to what most stores sell today). It's that constant rotation of tastes and skill-sets that ensures employment for creative people.

There will be high unemployment either with or without technology.

If they don't replace us with machines, they'll replace us with illegals or H1B visa workers.

We are doomed. The NWO appears to be unstoppable.

WORKING SO MUCH- for so little of the pie- DESPITE technological advance-
was the ruling class idea of a perfect slave culture.

I 2nd the motion!

The answer has to be yes and no. Yes, a lot of jobs will be gone due to new technology so we need funding to retrain people to keep up with it. No because there is no way this new technology can physically build something, truck something, wield something. College is great but there is a lot to be said about skilled labor.

Yes, unless we train the American workforce for technology-related jobs.

The days of making a decent living doing manual labor are over.

Technology actually creates more jobs. Someone has to design the ATM, manufacture it, sell it, install it, maintain it, repair it, account for and audit what comes out of it, refill it . . . you see where I am going with this. The same can be said for the rest. I think the one thing this country needs to do is support farming and agriculture. We are throwing up Wal-Marts and condos where we used to grow food. Unless we want our food coming from foreign countries or have shortages someday we need to plan better.

It will happen - maybe not in our lives, but it will happen.

I agree to the point that people should be able to afford to retire much younger and the 'social safety net' HAS to be put in place for that 'future' that will come of age soon enough.

I also agree that people should be earning more, much more and that work hours have to be diminished.

That way more people will have jobs than what is occurring now. I know the conservative rich types don't like that scenario and never will, but the gv't will HAVE to make it so and keep the jobs there are in the USA, by legislation if necessary.

"Shouldn't we we have a more robust social spending programs for when unemployment is at say 20% or higher. Especial when companies are using this technology to cut theirs cost and to make record high profits. "

Yes.



I would just add that we have always had an increase in technology, we have to find the room to employ more people, there is no other option. The argument that technology is putting people out of work has been made since the begining of the industrial revolution,.

You are exactly right - that's structural unemployment. I'm going to go out on a limb and even say something bizarre: I think this economic crisis is the start of the end of "corporatism" -

To H@ll with corporations. They have shown how much they care about us so we should return the favor -- Don't buy anything from them if you can at all help it. Let's all be the masters of our own economic destiny and buy from our neighborhood stores. If we need to make a large purchase (car or appliance) buy restored, refurbished or used.

The idea was that as technology progressed, job displacement would occur but the workforce would be "re-absorbed" in other areas. Great, but it didn't happen -- the only thing *close* to it was more and more jobs became automated via software and computers. They don't need pilots to fly planes anymore; they don't need doctors, really. Nobody is really all that safe. Even manual labor isn't safe because people who normally would give manual laborers jobs are out of work.

I don't think social spending is going to do it.
No economic activity is "future proof" and nobody is going to decide for us when and what we're going to do with our energies that we can contribute.

Even jobs that "kill" jobs (office/small business automation) aren't safe - so it's really going to ultimately be up to *all* of us to decide our own futures.

Nope......high unemployment is the direct result of liberal policies.

That makes too much sense.

No because machines will always need humans to fix them when there broke