tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post6665949606624511568..comments2024-03-22T08:07:47.253+00:00Comments on Alan Winfield's Web Log: Maybe we need an Automation TaxAlan Winfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263812573346115168noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-48653000833220488602016-10-25T19:37:36.533+01:002016-10-25T19:37:36.533+01:00Intresting thoughts. I wish it was brought up by ...Intresting thoughts. I wish it was brought up by our purported future "leaders" at the last debate. If I'm not mistaken our current tax code actually encourages technology that eliminates jobs.fungus-among-ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839864129750870381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-59993048386954480292016-09-01T16:23:51.832+01:002016-09-01T16:23:51.832+01:00I've actually been thinking a lot about this v...I've actually been thinking a lot about this very issue and seriously entertaining this very concept. I've worked in local government, involved in providing economic development incentives to companies, some of which actually ended up reducing the beneficiaries workforce. There are often provisions for a workforce laid off because of a major employer closing, but the issue of employees' made redundant due to automation isn't addressed at all.Geoffrey Turkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gsturknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-67773090304298156012015-06-15T15:30:09.523+01:002015-06-15T15:30:09.523+01:00Perhaps we should encourage workers to automate th...Perhaps we should encourage workers to automate their work themselves, e.g. subsidize workers that buy/develop a robot to replace themselves. The robot's pay goes to the workers. <br />Loyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03925552677297569530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-54585955643077204892015-02-27T22:37:21.800+00:002015-02-27T22:37:21.800+00:00Very interesting thoughts. As automation becomes m...Very interesting thoughts. As automation becomes more advanced, people are starting to ask if their jobs will be taken over by robots. Hudson Roboticshttp://www.hudsonrobotics.com/products/oem-programs/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-44905057356160059682015-01-30T12:55:38.258+00:002015-01-30T12:55:38.258+00:00Many thanks Steve, very interesting comments.
In ...Many thanks Steve, very interesting comments.<br /><br />In response to your first point, the very people I have in mind are those least able to anticipate and prepare themselves, the minimum-waged already struggling to get by. People we used to proudly call working class, but are now more often (and aptly) described as the precariat. But your point is very well made.<br /><br />Re public information. Couldn't agree more: we need more honesty and openness. The mantra is that new technology creates jobs, and wealth. Which is true in the long run! But that's no comfort at all to those low-skilled individuals who's jobs are lost short-term, and who lack the resources to retrain.Alan Winfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08263812573346115168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-61516784745930038352015-01-30T11:14:47.381+00:002015-01-30T11:14:47.381+00:00I’ve been thinking about these issues lately, and ...I’ve been thinking about these issues lately, and I think your proposal in general form is very just and worth pushing at the political level. However, the way you’ve cast it makes it look as though workers are incapable of anticipating automation for themselves in a way that might lead them to ‘jump before they’re pushed’, minimizing costs all round. In particular, I was struck by the costs that might be incurred by companies who went down your third bullet point. However, at least in principle, these could be avoided if clear signals were given about the tendency toward automation in certain industries and services, which in turn workers would read as an increase in the precariousness of their own employment – long before they are actually made redundant. Indeed, this would enhance the pace of automation and minimize civil unrest.<br /> <br />I propose this because, as you say, you’re pro-automation. So it would seem to follow that automation needs not only a tax regime, which is likely to appear punitive, but also a public information programme that flags the onset of automation in various areas so that workers get a heads-up that it’s time to change fields. (And here lies the argument for robust public support for mid-life retraining programmes -- more people are going to need it.) <br />Steve Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282125191991729151noreply@blogger.com