Here Come the Robots

In "The Graduate", Dustin Hoffman is advised by an older family friend to get into "plastics". If they ever re-made that film, they'd maybe say get into "robots". Mexican laborers may seem cheap compared to American workers, and Chindian workers may look like a bargain compared to Mexicans. But Everyone is expensive compared to robots. Robots don't unionize, get sick, need 401k's, or insurance. They don't get pregnant or cancer. And perhaps most importantly for FoxConn (they make all the iphones and related gadgetry), Robots don't jump ot of windows (unless directed too). See, Foxconn recently had to install nets around their buildings. Turns out too many employees were jumping out the window during their shift. After a bogus PR campaign that included the CEO walking around the factory floor, giving 20% pay hikes across the board, and a bunch of hand-shakes, some genius at FoxConn decided enough was enough. Let's just bring in the robots. So the company announced their intention to have a million robots working for them within 3 years. They omitted their 5 and 10 plans out of fear that the nets may not have been strong strong enough to support all their workers jumping out simultaneously. And if Chinese workers are screwed, then you are REALLY screwed. Here you are, preparing to do battle over the rest of your life to better prepare yourself for the New Normal/Economic Blitzkrieg that is surely coming; that is, the lowering of your Standard of Living as that of the Chindians rises meteorically. Your plan was to minimize the pain and hope to meet all those other guys somewhere in the middle. Only, Robots change all that. With Robots, there is no middle. Just an abyss. You're gonna hit terminal velocity soon. The thud will be horrific.