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A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

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Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#71
post #67

Income for the top 1% of the population is up over 400% over the past 30 years, while remaining largely flat for the rest of the workforce. The tech boom is well underway, it's just that only a tiny fraction of the population is capturing the vast majority of the benefits. The boom is not just about efficiencies, it's also about centralization and winner-take-all market dynamics.

The money will soon start to trickle down from the top 1% especially with the latest tax cuts. Be patient just a little more.

[deleted]

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#72
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The money will soon start to trickle down from the top 1% especially with the latest tax cuts. Be patient just a little more.

Sarcastic, or do you have some reason to believe that'll actually happen this time?

Comrade maxxx is secretly hoping you don't want to be patient.

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#73

Income for the top 1% of the population is up over 400% over the past 30 years, while remaining largely flat for the rest of the workforce. The tech boom is well underway, it's just that only a tiny fraction of the population is capturing the vast majority of the benefits. The boom is not just about efficiencies, it's also about centralization and winner-take-all market dynamics.

There were 500,000 new millionaires in the US alone in 2015:

The study, from market research and consulting firm Spectrem Group, found that there are now 10.1 million households in the U.S. with $1 million or more in investable assets, excluding the value of their primary residence.

That's up from about 9.6 million in 2013, and tops the prerecession peak of 9.2 million in 2007. It's the highest number since Spectrem began tracking the data in 1997.

If we cranking out half a million new millionaires a year, it should be sign more people are working to get into the top 1%, and the economy is still offering a ton of opportunity if you want to get out there and give it a go.

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Increasing worker productivity has always lead to fulfilling larger a demand. What is missing from all these discussions is that human wanting is essential infinite. The more productive you can be at making something, the more it will be taken for granted and a new thing wanted. Demand is infinite. Work is created to supply it. There is no amount of labour that will ever exhaust it. All automation does is increase th…

This ignores diminishing returns of additional labour and consumption. If we reach the happy situation where robots are providing us with the things we need for a good life almost automatically, why would we continue to work ourselves to the bone for additional goods and services that won't increase our happiness much? Most people would rather just work less. In fact, our current level of economic output is enough to…

There is a fundamental competition baked into existence in the form of land rights and human attention. Who gets to live where? Who are your friends? Who gets to go to that fancy college? While there are other ways of answering this question than "those who can afford it", it will always exist in some form.

While automation of necessities will make it easier to opt out of the capitalist mill, I would expect that to not be a tradeoff-free choice.

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#75
post #55

"A third of the rise in the S&P 500 stock market index this year is attributable to Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp." And yet don't those companies directly employ only around 150,000 workers in total? Yes, Apple off-shores employment to Foxconn but they are open about their plans to automate their factories and replace all the workers. This isn't a matter of…

In before all the posts lamenting "AAAFM" and its various impacts on the tech community without explaining that it refers to Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft.

Journalists should just start calling them the FAAAM.

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#76

Income for the top 1% of the population is up over 400% over the past 30 years, while remaining largely flat for the rest of the workforce. The tech boom is well underway, it's just that only a tiny fraction of the population is capturing the vast majority of the benefits. The boom is not just about efficiencies, it's also about centralization and winner-take-all market dynamics.

There were 500,000 new millionaires in the US alone in 2015: The study, from market research and consulting firm Spectrem Group, found that there are now 10.1 million households in the U.S. with $1 million or more in investable assets, excluding the value of their primary residence. That's up from about 9.6 million in 2013, and tops the prerecession peak of 9.2 million in 2007. It's the highest number since Spectrem…

> more people are working to get into the top 1%

I don't think that's how the top 1% works

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#77
Automation is usually deflationary. Deflation is the easiest problem in the world to solve -- just print money. So, print it and pass it out.

As people spend the money, we don't have to give raises to the robots. If a few rich people end up with nearly all the money, then tax it back and pass it out again.

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#78

Income for the top 1% of the population is up over 400% over the past 30 years, while remaining largely flat for the rest of the workforce. The tech boom is well underway, it's just that only a tiny fraction of the population is capturing the vast majority of the benefits. The boom is not just about efficiencies, it's also about centralization and winner-take-all market dynamics.

There were 500,000 new millionaires in the US alone in 2015: The study, from market research and consulting firm Spectrem Group, found that there are now 10.1 million households in the U.S. with $1 million or more in investable assets, excluding the value of their primary residence. That's up from about 9.6 million in 2013, and tops the prerecession peak of 9.2 million in 2007. It's the highest number since Spectrem…

I hope that’s inflation adjusted. A 1997 millionaire was an awful lot wealthier than a 2017 millionaire. It will be something around 50% inflation. If someone is a millionaire now that can simply mean they live in a moderate sized city and own their house, there are no Scrooge McDuck cash piles.

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#79

Income for the top 1% of the population is up over 400% over the past 30 years, while remaining largely flat for the rest of the workforce. The tech boom is well underway, it's just that only a tiny fraction of the population is capturing the vast majority of the benefits. The boom is not just about efficiencies, it's also about centralization and winner-take-all market dynamics.

I'm waiting for the common folks to start hoarding money too and decrease consumption. Ford figured this problem out at the start of the 20th century but apparently everyone forgot about it (if my employees aren't well off enough to buy my product, I'm screwed).

I personally believe that what we're going through right now isn't going to scale and it will collapse. It's probably one of the very few times in agree with Ron Paul: https://www.inquisitr.com/4704540/ron-paul-we-are-on-the-ver...

Re: A Tech-Driven Boom Is Coming; Please Be Patient

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was off by about 15k, apparently. https://www.recode.net/2017/7/24/16022210/alphabet-google-em...

That's only the headcount for full-time employees. You've got to at least double it to account for all the contractors as well.

That ends up being rather circular though doesn’t it? Eg Amazon likely has someone who they employ but is contracted to sort of Netflix stuff. Who’s employee count do they add to?
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