What If There Just Aren’t Enough Jobs to Go Around?

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jul 22, 2016, 5:04 AM UTC

david927 wrote: post #96

maxharris wrote: post #78

First, there are plenty of jobs, but not enough people that have decided to develop themselves enough to have the skills to do them. For example (a real life one, unfortunately for me): I need a biopsy of a mass near my heart, but the current waiting time for this procedure here in Seattle (at both major hospitals) is two months. What we do have is plenty of regulations that constrain the supply of physicians, servic…

That's like saying there's plenty of room for musicians if you're Mozart. The amount of investment required to develop yourself for a target field has grown astronomically, but that's been coupled with a push down in wages. I know lawyers who spent a fortune for their degree, passed the Bar, and make barely more than minimum wage. Regulation isn't causing this; automation is causing this.

Post by ZenPsycho » Fri, Jul 22, 2016, 5:12 AM UTC

maxharris wrote: post #252

ZenPsycho wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Finally, what is the point here? An more economically "equal" society, or a society where people like me don't die waiting in line for care? I stridently advocate for the latter." this is a false dichotomy. To get more doctors you need more people who can afford the education. Not less. I'd say check your privilege- Any of those options you listed for getting an education still take a vastly greater amount of resour…

> I'd say check your privilege That is not the right advice for any human being, no matter where they start. I'm fighting for my life right now - a life I had to strive for. I don't take a moment for granted, even with the pain and the uncertainty that I'm under right now. I paid for my education (UW-Madison, class of 2011). I've never wanted anything but to earn my place in the world. You say that I'm motivated by a…

Post by yummyfajitas » Fri, Jul 22, 2016, 5:41 AM UTC

selimthegrim wrote: post #211

yummyfajitas wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I'd like the government to stop paying people to do nothing, and instead pay them to provide government services. Rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, provide child care to working women, left wing types have a huge laundry list of things they'd like the government to do more of. I'd also like to replace as many (currently overpaid) government workers with welfare types as possible. Why pay $50k/year to a unioni…

Try doing this with the MTA or LIRR workers or the prison guards and see how far you get in the next election before they strike and clog up the city.

Post by yummyfajitas » Fri, Jul 22, 2016, 5:49 AM UTC

logfromblammo wrote: post #156

yummyfajitas wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But not the money to pay for these jobs....But in most countries they receive social welfare while out of work. See the contradiction here? We could put these people to work engaging in labor that is valuable, but not as valuable as the cost of their welfare. I.e. pay them $7.25/hour to do $5/hour worth of labor (net cost to society = $2.25/hour). Yet we don't. Instead we pay them to play video games (net cost to soc…

There is a tiny flaw in your reasoning. I will give you a hint as to what it is. Prison inmate workers may earn about $4.73/day in the US. If you pay someone $7.25/h to do nothing, that might be considered an incentive payment to not do work that does net harm to society. While it would always be better to pay the $7.25 for something that might benefit the economy less in absolute terms, there is no "zero" that can b…

Post by gnaritas » Fri, Jul 22, 2016, 6:08 AM UTC

adamnemecek wrote: post #174

gnaritas wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> * it will become standard for people to keep learning That won't happen, humans don't work that way and it ignores the reality that many people will simply be incapable of learning enough to be more valuable than a machine. Machines will put a floor on value and people who can't exceed that floor (which will be most of society at some future point) won't have jobs they can do.

> humans don't work that way This is fundamentally an issue with the educational system. Change the system the rest will follow. Saying that humans don't work this way is like saying that nothing heavier than air will ever fly. > incapable of learning enough to be more valuable than a machine I don't think that AI and human intelligence will ever completely converge. > Machines will put a floor on value and people wh…