*A:M User* Roger Posted May 14, 2013 *A:M User* Share Posted May 14, 2013 Interesting article about the new economy we're all living in: http://www.salon.com/2013/05/12/jaron_lani...e_middle_class/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted May 14, 2013 Hash Fellow Share Posted May 14, 2013 The thesis in general is a valid one, but claiming that Instagram replaces the functions of Kodak is a poor factoid. There is no Instagram product that can take a picture. And this one... early audio recordings, which today would sound horrible to us, were indistinguishable between real music to people who did double blind tests and whatnot. No, not for any normally hearing person. Advertisements claimed such things but back then advertisements claimed all sorts of crazy stuff that wasn't true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted May 14, 2013 Author *A:M User* Share Posted May 14, 2013 The thesis in general is a valid one, but claiming that Instagram replaces the functions of Kodak is a poor factoid. There is no Instagram product that can take a picture. And this one... early audio recordings, which today would sound horrible to us, were indistinguishable between real music to people who did double blind tests and whatnot. No, not for any normally hearing person. Advertisements claimed such things but back then advertisements claimed all sorts of crazy stuff that wasn't true. Yes, some of his specific examples are kinda flakey. I must have missed that 2nd quote on my first read of the article. However, the general trend is towards less labor over time. In the past, technological upheaval generally provided a whole new class of jobs. This doesn't seem to be the case this time. I really don't know how those jobs are going to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted May 14, 2013 Hash Fellow Share Posted May 14, 2013 When I was little the spin was that more automation would give us all more "leisure time". There was even a leisure suit you could wear. We'd all be able to do the same job in less time for the same money. But instead of 40 people working one hour per week what we have is one person working 40 hours and 39 people out of work completely. And that one person working still has to have a second job because the one job doesn't pay enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted May 14, 2013 Author *A:M User* Share Posted May 14, 2013 When I was little the spin was that more automation would give us all more "leisure time". There was even a leisure suit you could wear. We'd all be able to do the same job in less time for the same money. But instead of 40 people working one hour per week what we have is one person working 40 hours and 39 people out of work completely. And that one person working still has to have a second job because the one job doesn't pay enough. Yeah, more or less. In raw dollar amounts, I'm probably making about the same as what my dad was when he was my age, problem is my purchasing power is probably 25-50% less due to inflation. I think one dollar earned in the 70s is worth maybe 25 cents today? (assuming you just stuck it in a jar). I'm comfortable enough as a single guy with no kids, but if I had a family that money would not go as far. My health insurance would probably be $600 a month, for one thing. So what is the ultimate result, do you suppose? Eventually we get to most of the population working 2 or 3 jobs and no one has anything to spend on other than essentials? I'm not sure what percentage of the economy consumer spending is, but at some point the folks at the top aren't going to be able to pay their bills (unless they are focusing on emerging markets and just writing the lot of us off). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zandoriastudios Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/aft...-uphill-battle/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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