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    emooHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:39am

    This is a really big deal. We are all taught from an early age that you need to work to eat, to have health care, that your identity comes from your job. When I became a SAHM it was incredibly jarring to suddenly have a life that revolved around something I wasn’t paid for. Being a parent is challenging and important, but I felt like a loser when other adults would talk about their time, and mine was full of laundry and bodily fluids I wasn’t earning a paycheck to handle.

    We need to start thinking, seriously, now, about how much our culture needs to change.

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      MizJenkinsemoo
      5/26/16 10:45am

      See my comment upthread, but I think a return to single income households could be the good thing to come out of this. And yes, that would mean a shift in the culture towards actually valuing the efforts of stay-at-home parents. Something all those “Culture of Life” folks should be putting their energies into rather than waving bloody signs and harassing people.

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      igotwordsMizJenkins
      5/26/16 11:09am

      You can’t possibly mean telling people that becoming rich, power, and famous for doing virtually nothing isn’t the most important thing in life?

      What we would do with the Kardashians?

      (honestly I like this option best.)

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    ZukkaHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:35am

    I wonder if industries can be built for maintaining that automation.

    Instead of truck stops across the country on highway routes for filling up gas/bathrooms, those same places become places to repair the automated cars/make sure they are working correctly.

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      QuintZukka
      5/26/16 10:37am

      Of course they can (and will). Though they’ll only employ a fraction of the jobs that were lost...

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      ZukkaQuint
      5/26/16 10:38am

      Right. That’s the core of the problem.

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    EtruscanRaiderHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:40am

    How about lots of grants for art and pure science? We’ve always dreamed of a future in which the collective genius of humanity could be directed towards noble pursuits, why not take advantage of our machines to explore and learn and create?

    Like Star Trek...

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      did-it-for-da-lulzEtruscanRaider
      5/26/16 10:41am

      Except that not everyone is Genius. Just look at Chicago. Go look at all those people on “disability”. Now tell me with a straight face, they’ll be able to solve problems other then trying to tie their shoe laces!

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      EtruscanRaiderdid-it-for-da-lulz
      5/26/16 10:48am

      Hey Van Gogh was a barely functional weirdo who couldn’t do anything in normal society but he still managed to make great art.

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    IAMBlastedBiggsLostBurnerHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:33am

    Two words: artisanal unemployment! It still sucks, but in a much more fashionable and modern sort of way.

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      Hip Brooklyn StereotypeIAMBlastedBiggsLostBurner
      5/26/16 10:36am

      I mean, we’re all ultimately going to be cast headfirst into the gaping maw that is death anyway, amirite?

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      Quasar FunkIAMBlastedBiggsLostBurner
      5/26/16 10:38am

      Is it organic?

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    endusoneHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 11:38am

    Wow, you’re not even trying to disguise your desire for the entire population to be dependent on the government to survive. How anyone can think that’s a good idea in the face of the governments we see in the world today (and especially in America) is completely beyond me.

    This is exactly why the $15/hr minimum wage is a bad idea. I agree with the idea of the minimum wage, but you need to take into account that labor has a value which you cannot increase with laws. Yes, automation in fast food, etc. was inevitable, but a $15/hr minimum wage is tipping the balance to where automation (and the associated R&D costs) start to make a lot more sense.

    So you hasten this problem by defying the market with government, and then your solution is more government to fix the problem. This, in the face of an election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The idea of refreshing and improving our infrastructure makes more sense, but you certainly wouldn’t want to put that work out to bid where there is at least the pretense of accountability...no...you would rather further centralize power by making the people doing the work beholden to the government for their living. And, meanwhile...isn’t the government the entity that has done such a poor job maintaining our infrastructure in the first place?

    On top of all this, you mention that it’s a fantastic time to borrow money! As the U.S. Government is running a tremendous deficit on top of an extremely large debt often held by less-than-friendly nations, you want to borrow more money! Granted, the politics of that debt are way more complicated than, “we’re in China’s pocket” but it does create further obligations and entanglements at a time when China’s economy may be facing some issues, and there are political issues around intellectual property, the south china sea, etc.

    I wish I could convey how flabbergasted by this article I am. It’s beyond words. As a Libertarian, I completely respect that sections of our society may want to live in a collective where wealth is shared. We’ve seen over and over and over again throughout history that it is not a viable system for a national government, a fact which you completely ignore, but on a smaller scale it is certainly well within people’s rights. But right now...in America...with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton...and the ongoing wars...and the outrageous levels of legalized corruption...and the corporate welfare...and the mass surveilance...and the TSA’s security theater...and the deficit...and the debt....and the defense spending...and wall street...and the government making laws about going to the bathroom........in the face of all of this you want to make us MORE dependent on the government and INCREASE the spending and debt. Do you not understand that there are limits to how far this situation can be pushed? It is completely incomprehensible to me that an intelligent person could actually think this is a good idea.

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      DidYouReallyRespondToMyComment?endusone
      5/26/16 12:32pm

      Isn’t there a happy valley you should be shrugging to death in?

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      Carlos Danger is my spirit animalendusone
      5/26/16 12:48pm

      As a fellow Libertarian, the rest of Gawker is going to sit and stare at you like you just shouted a bunch of calculus equations at them. Even in the face of a socialist country like Venezuela rapidly going down the shitter thanks to the low price of oil, people still think more socialism is the answer that will fix all our problems. Things like guaranteed income sound good on paper, until you get to one basic problem: what do you do when you run out of other people’s money? For a country like Switzerland which is considering having a basic universal income, this isn’t a huge deal in the long term, because they’re small, they don’t spend a lot on national defense, and they get a lot of money thanks to their lucrative banking industry. In the US however, guaranteed basic income would be a gigantic shitshow of such epic proportions that the only way you could ever come close to make it work would be to pay off our debt and radically restructure how we spend government revenues from top to bottom.

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    benjaminalloverHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 11:01am

    Horticulture and small-scale agriculture.

    Yes it’s labor intensive, but it’s reparative to the land, the people, and the stability of local economies. Oh- and it yields healthy local food.

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      XrdsAlumbenjaminallover
      5/26/16 12:36pm

      That’s really hobby stuff to pass idle time productively. While it may put some food on the table, it won’t be a way for 21st century Americans to put roofs over their heads or pay for other amenities - especially in the cities.

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      benjaminalloverXrdsAlum
      5/26/16 12:44pm

      It’s not a solution for everyone, by any means, but it’s a viable living if you’re smart about what you choose to grow, or alternatively a great way to supplement a small wage income. I think it’s even more of a boon to urban communities with food deserts; look at the urban farms springing up in Detroit. If we could get back to 1980's levels of participation with the 21st century demand for local food, we would be looking at a much more stable and healthy agricultural industry, better food, less fossil fuel inputs, and a few hundred thousand green, sustainable jobs, plus the added values to communities.

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    hntergrenHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:32am

    What should happen is all of the above. The “end of work” is a great ideal, but requires social safety nets and universal minimum income. But when people are free to spend their time pursuing passions, we will see innovation and creativity take hold. A big part of the problem is what we assign social and economic value to, those cultural value determinations need to shift.

    http://www.amazon.com/End-Work-Decli…

    http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

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      toothpetardhntergren
      5/26/16 10:36am

      War is good for unemployment, I’m guessing war.

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      sasquatchpatchtoothpetard
      5/26/16 10:38am

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    AllModConnedHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:45am

    It’s simple. Humans will boycott businesses that rely on robots.

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      QuintAllModConned
      5/26/16 10:47am

      No they won’t.

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      AskYourMotherQuint
      5/26/16 10:59am

      Many will start fire bombing them.

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    Quasar FunkHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:35am

    Hello, HAMILTON NOLAN.

    I have read your blog post about AUTOMATION STEALING JOBS and I must say that I DISAGREE with your opinion. AUTOMATION STEALING JOBS is not a BAD thing. Besides, AUTOMATION STEALING JOBS will not likely STEAL THE JOBS OF BLOGGERS OR COMMENTERS. I think you are OVERreacting to this AUTOMATION STEALING JOBS news.

    Sincerely,

    QUASAR FUNK

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      Sean BrodyQuasar Funk
      5/26/16 10:43am

      FUNK!

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      Sid and FinancySean Brody
      5/26/16 10:52am

      Make my funk the Q-Funk.

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    BrtStlndHamilton Nolan
    5/26/16 10:41am

    Many people try to dismiss the universal basic income as being a ridiculous and unsustainable entitlement... BUT the single biggest threat to the long-term viability of our economy is that the lower half of the economic spectrum runs out of money to spend with no prospects of earning more.

    This is when the house of cards collapses, unemployment skyrockets and consumer spending plummets because 150 million people can’t pay bills or spend money.

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      ARP2BrtStlnd
      5/26/16 10:45am

      The problem is that we’d rather spend multiples of that money putting people in prisons, building walls, and fighting wars, rather than give someone money we don’t think fully “earned” it.

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      RudycaneatadickBrtStlnd
      5/26/16 10:57am

      Never mind that a large swath of the population with no money or food or prospects for money and food might, I don’t know, turn to crime and violence. Bandits are never good for the economy or social stability.

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