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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says Labor Shouldn't Have To Fear Automation (techcrunch.com)
Munky101 tipped us off to some interesting comments from New York's activist congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. TechCrunch reports:
It's impossible to discuss the seismic shift toward automation without a conversation about job loss. Opponents of these technologies criticize a displacement that could someday result in wide-scale unemployment among what is often considered "unskilled" roles. Advocates, meanwhile, tend to suggest that reports of that nature tend to be overstated. Workforces shift, as they have done for time immemorial. During a conversation at SXSW this week, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez offered another take entirely.
"We should not be haunted by the specter of being automated out of work," she said in an answer reported by The Verge. "We should be excited by that. But the reason we're not excited by it is because we live in a society where if you don't have a job, you are left to die. And that is, at its core, our problem... We should be excited about automation, because what it could potentially mean is more time educating ourselves, more time creating art, more time investing in and investigating the sciences, more time focused on invention, more time going to space, more time enjoying the world that we live in," The Verge quoted Ocasio-Cortez as saying. "Because not all creativity needs to be bonded by wage."
And Ocasio-Cortez cited Bill Gates' suggestion (first floated in a presentation on Quartz) that a robot tax might be a way to make that vision real. "What [Gates is] really talking about is taxing corporations," she reportedly said. "But it's easier to say: 'tax a robot.' "
Science fiction writer William Gibson called her comments "shockingly intelligent" for a politician. Fast Company adds that robots "have put half a million people out of work in the United States, and researchers estimate that bots could take 800 million jobs by 2030" -- then quotes Ocasio-Cortez's assessment of the unfair state of labor today.
"We should be working the least amount we've ever worked, if we were actually paid based on how much wealth we were producing, but we're not," she said. "We're paid by how little we're desperate enough to accept. And then the rest is skimmed off and given to a billionaire."
"We should not be haunted by the specter of being automated out of work," she said in an answer reported by The Verge. "We should be excited by that. But the reason we're not excited by it is because we live in a society where if you don't have a job, you are left to die. And that is, at its core, our problem... We should be excited about automation, because what it could potentially mean is more time educating ourselves, more time creating art, more time investing in and investigating the sciences, more time focused on invention, more time going to space, more time enjoying the world that we live in," The Verge quoted Ocasio-Cortez as saying. "Because not all creativity needs to be bonded by wage."
And Ocasio-Cortez cited Bill Gates' suggestion (first floated in a presentation on Quartz) that a robot tax might be a way to make that vision real. "What [Gates is] really talking about is taxing corporations," she reportedly said. "But it's easier to say: 'tax a robot.' "
Science fiction writer William Gibson called her comments "shockingly intelligent" for a politician. Fast Company adds that robots "have put half a million people out of work in the United States, and researchers estimate that bots could take 800 million jobs by 2030" -- then quotes Ocasio-Cortez's assessment of the unfair state of labor today.
"We should be working the least amount we've ever worked, if we were actually paid based on how much wealth we were producing, but we're not," she said. "We're paid by how little we're desperate enough to accept. And then the rest is skimmed off and given to a billionaire."
"But, uh, somebody else did something bad." has nothing to do with the fact that Wells-Fargo did finance the companies that put children in cages. Try again, Ivan.
I don't respond to AC's.
I'm not ignoring anything. I read the transcript in the Newsweek article that you linked to. You're literally ignoring the English words that the CEO of Wells-Fargo said. You apparently want to just say random things that are untrue without having anybody tell you that you're wrong. Perhaps you should consider arguing with a wall. You'll be more successful.
Mr. Sloan, why was the bank involved in the caging of children and financing the caging of children to begin with?"
Ocasio-Cortez appeared to be referencing the fact that Wells Fargo has been in the business of financing private prison companies.
"Uh, I don't know how to answer that question, because we weren't," Sloan responded.
Ocasio Cortez followed up: "You were financing—involved with debt financing CoreCivic and GeoGroup, correct?
“For a period of time, we were involved in financing one of the firms," said Sloan. "We aren’t anymore. I’m not familiar with the specific assertion that you’re making, but we weren’t directly involved in that."
Ocasio-Cortez eventually relented on the point.
"These companies run private detention facilities run by ICE which is involved in caging children, but I'll move on," she concluded.
I don't respond to AC's.
A meme for you, but it's actually quite accurate.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
In Canada and the UK people are dying because they can’t get any timely treatment though. There is no reason anyone in the US is dying because they can’t get insulin, they can walk into any ER and get insulin free of charge, it costs ~$25/100 doses from any pharmacy and there are plenty of clinics around for low income people. What’s more, if you’re low income, the state will pay your medical bill.
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