Yes, the push - a national push - for a $15 minimum wage contributed mightily to automation and to the closing of businesses. Obamacare didn’t help either. I think McD is just the beginning.
Change takes time. For McDonald’s, it’s order takers now. At some point I expect the kiosk will microwave your burger as well. The fast food places that don’t follow McDonald’s lead will go out of business. There are people who love people, but in the end perhaps only Barbara Streisand will regularly pay more for a burger.
I’ve found that workers at grocery stores, Home Depot, etc. are so pleasant. They are almost always ready to show you how to use the self-check, eventually eliminating their own jobs.
It’s not too late. Eliminate the minimum wage and McDonald’s and others will reverse course.
Automate or not? I think it makes a lot of sense if it improves safety. Let the robots paint the cars, pour the steel, etc. Other than that, there are plenty of people who are willing to work for less than the cost of buying and maintaining a robot.
[I’ve found that workers at grocery stores, Home Depot, etc. are so pleasant. They are almost always ready to show you how to use the self-check, eventually eliminating their own jobs.]
There won’t even be self-check when this is widely-deployed.
From there, ain’t ain’t too far to “forehead or right hand”.....
This is from 2007 - they’re already being deployed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk
IBM RFID Commercial - most of the Bible Prophecy ping list have seen this from me several times - but some new members haven’t so here we go again.