The Mark Andreessens of the world write off job losses to technology as just the way it has always been, think refrigeration putting icehouses and their employees out of work. The difference this time is that the jobs being replaced are the middle class labor forces in both developed and developing nations and there are no new labor requirements coming along to replace the jobs being eliminated. Here in the US, healthcare benefits have been tied to permanent employment so there is no universal healthcare for contract workers to fall back on. The ACA attempts to remedy this but it is really not a complete replacement for the typical middle class medical insurance packages offered by most major corporations and Republicans would deny even this to our citizens.

Please wake up! The world is changing much faster than most people realize, not only disappearing jobs but the types of skills required for future work. Or even the need for labor as we think of it today. We need to discuss more than climate change or a tongue in cheek discussion of the coming singularity. All the underpinnings of our capitalist society here in the US and around the world are changing. Capital flows have changed significantly since the 1970s with capital leaving the US, particularly that capital held by the US middle class. Capital is now flowing to the Chinese and Indian oligarchs and yes, these countries' growing middle classes but as capital is amassed in these countries we will quickly see a repeat of the job losses created by robotics there as well. The whole world must deal with the fundamental issue, What will people do when physical and even mental labor positions are filled with robots and AI?

PS. Perhaps the Star Trek universe has it right man’s purpose in life is to grow. learn and become better. This is a lot different from man’s purpose in life is to amass capital or die from its lack. Just a thought. Any suggestions? Living wage, etc?

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/jcUvbPuAEeK7Ol9LO2Kq7J/Where-will-all-the-workers-go.html