Ep. 70: Goats, Crabs, & Robots
We're back! Sorry for the long delay between episodes. Casey and Adam both had some technical issues and then some personal demands the kept us from you. All that matters is that we're here now and that we're talking about robots again.
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Can robots that are designed to mutilate crabs *create* jobs for a dying fishing town in Newfoundland? Will goats take jobs from hardworking Americans long before robots get a chance? In both cases, no, but the situations highlight the underlying problems in the economy that automation will exacerbate.
Also: Mark Zuckerberg--who definitely isn't running for president he's just on a cross-country tour because he cares, but only in a platonic sense--recently signaled further support for a Universal Basic Income, referencing the Alaska Permanent Fund as he did. Always be suspicious when a billionaire starts telling you about his plan to end poverty...
Adam--who is also definitely not running for president because he's grossly unqualified, has no interest in a cross-country tour, and definitely *does not* care--has a wacky idea about how a Job Guarantee program might be a better way to get to a post-work, all leisure time, robot-driven utopia.
All that and more this week on Future Left!
Our Reading List This Week:
Automation & Seattle’s Minimum Wage
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/26/new-study-casts-doubt-on-whether-a-15-minimum-wage-really-helps-workers/?utm_term=.c4a6ead34931
Mark Zuckerberg on UBI & Alaska’s Permanent Fund
https://newrepublic.com/article/143758/mark-zuckerberg-gets-wrong-ubi
Job Guarantee!
1-https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/03/stop-exploiting-people-cut-unemployment-job-guarantee-underwritten
2-http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/07/06/forget-a-higher-minimum-wage-heres-a-better-way-to-help-american-workers/
