Mike Shedlock of Townhall makes the following predictions in light of this news:
1. Technology will improve much faster than currently estimated.
2. By the time Congress addresses the illegal immigrant problem, the nature of the problem will have radically changed
Not unless the robots pay Social Security taxes.
Over the last 60 years there have been working mechanical pickers and processors developed that could pretty efficiently do the job with only a small number of workers to handle the machines. Chavez and his union pretty much pushed most of these out of consideration in order to keep his union pickers employed.
Now if that lettuce can be picked by machines, we won’t be in danger of dying of e-coli because of human feces on our salad. The sooner we get migrants out of the fields where food is grown the better.
Something of primary importance, which I almost never hear anyone talking about —
If automation and/or cheap labor from overseas causes some ridiculous amout of US unemployment — consider 50% unemployment rate: never had a job, have no skills, totally unemployable in the 21st century — what can society do with such large number of people who have nothing to do accept pick up their food allotment at the government food pantry?
We’re basically heading toward a post-scarcity society — food brought to us through machines, and shale oil gives us lots of energy. Then what? What is the purpose of the human population?
In the past, the rich folks at the top had lots of leisure to hunt, throw dinner parties or travel. But no society has ever had a huge worker class with nothing to do with their time.
Lots of leisure could lead to a cultural golden age, but I think it is more likely to create instability.
"Greetings, carbon-based lifeform. Now git off mah land!"
Machine harvest of tomatoes is a good example of the future. Machines pick all the tomatoes at once and sensors tell which ones are red enough to keep, all others are rejected and plowed under again.
While there’s a considerable waste the increased productivity more than pays for it. Likewise for tree crops like walnuts which only require one man on a tractor to pick a whole tree in a few minutes.
As Terry Anderson used to say, LA is crawling with illegals, but there’s no strawberry field anywhere around. This won’t solve the illegal immigration problem, but I still welcome it because the illegals now picking the crops don’t know or care anything about sanitation or hygiene, and they are making us sick.
Several good articles today. This one touches on a topic we haven't seen discussed on FR in a very long time...HJ
That's worth the price of innovation right there.
Robots doing the jobs illegal aliens won’t do...
No, since "cheap labor" is of secondary concern. The "cheap labor, subsidized by the taxpayer, is used to bribe GOP business types into going along with open borders. The illegal immigrants are reallyhere to replace the White Christian Middle class that demands liberty, prosperity, and firearms with a servant class of peons like that of any other banana republic.
It will not solve our issues of illegal immigration, our politicians will encourage them to come here for the hand-outs. Jobs or not the liberals need them for their votes.
That must be the $50 lettuce Juan McCain was talking about.