Andrew Yang Is Full of It

Slate is suggesting trade deals are responsible for more job losses than robots and therefore Yang is full of it.

However, the last sentence says, "By prophesying imaginary problems, you ignore the real ones."

But finding reasons people are losing jobs not due to robots does not mean robots aren't taking jobs.

It's a mathematical fact that robots are taking jobs. Container ports are being automated and hundreds of longshoremen are laid off at each port. Robots in factories.

At the end of "American Factory" (spoiler) coming...

the solution to the problem of "lazy" American workers was, you guessed it, replacing them with robots.

It isn't just factory work either. It isn't just blue collar work. The internet and technology and automation is replacing absolutely everyone.

There will come a day when it'll be almost impossible for a human to find work. I believe companies will just stop hiring them. Pretty much all the "human" work will be done by independent contractors who will be able to command very high salaries.

The article mentions how low wage truckers will drive the trucks in the cities, but I don't think they'll be low wage truckers. I remember learning about river captains who are flown out onto large ships when they need to navigate up river. They're experts and command very high wages to move the ships. It takes much experience to learn now to pilot ships through shifting river bottoms and curves.

I don't think it'll be cheap when we need humans to take over.

Jordan Weissmann writes a negative article about Andrew Yang and Elizabeth Warren and their respective economic plans bug includes no substantive analysis of either. Not worth the time to read.

This notion that those blaming "trade" and those blaming "automation" are in conflict is silly. Both are true. Some things get automated here. Some things go overseas. Some of them get automated there. It makes absolutely no difference to the person without prospects.

Regardless, employment will get worse, but restricting trade won't help.

If Andrew Yang is concerned with automation job loss, he can propose measures making it easier to live off grid and grow organic crops. Easing the transition back to people becoming more independent and less reliant on private sectors and governments for bread. Of course, Andrew Yang will never do this.