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Hi Jim et al,
We have many dilemmas in our economy. I truly think we need to find
ways to 'solve' some of them.
1. Work vs no work.
If you and I stay home to raise our respective kids, we are unemployed
and are not taxed or otherwise a part of the economy.
But if I pay you to take care of my kids and you pay me the same amount
to take care of your kids, we are both employed and members in good
standing in our communities and local economies.
Now that doesn't make any sense to me.
2. Art as work.
If I stand in the park and entertain you and 100 others with my songs,
I am unemployed and not pursuing any economic activity. If instead,
I sing the same songs in a nightclub in front of 50 people, and I get
paid, I am a good and useful worker in our society.
3. Engineering as work.
If I design a better door latch and give it to a non-profit organization
to help them create jobs for the disabled, I am unemployed and foolish
to boot.
If I sell the design to Ace Hardware Store for a million bucks, I am
an economic hero and a brilliant engineer.
Somehow, these examples show that there are extreme distortions in the
way we think of work. We have grossly undervalued some people's efforts,
and as we all know so well, we grossly overvalue the efforts of major
company's CEOs and other top management.
How can we attach a more realistic value to people's actual achievements?
This is a similar question to valuing our natural resources prior
to their being dug from the ground!
Jim says:
>I do not believe the solution is to try to find or make up jobs for the
>jobless, but to find ways to distribute the goods and services to everyone
>without most people "working" for them.
I agree with that but we also need to find a way to encourage people
to do useful and creative stuff and not just absorb what others do.
We also need to recognize that not everyone can be a rocket scientist
but still give credit where it is due.
Dennis Paull
Los Altos, CA
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Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 07:43:30 -1000
From: Jim Dator <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Dennis Paull <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: automation and jobs
Dennis Paull said:
---
Will there be a place for them in our future economy? Sure, you can
retrain many workers, but we need decent jobs even for those who do
not fit in to the ideal of the 21st century worker.
So the issue is not just automation. It is finding a place in our
economy for everyone that rewards knowledge, effort and ability.
If we cannot find such a place, we will not have a sustainable
economy, or a sustainable social system.
If the industrialists will not learn this message, I hope that the
public will elect politicians who do.
---
Dennis. I see that as one of the key problems. That while there may be
some "jobs" for SOME people, there will not be enough "good" jobs for
most people.
But there will be plenty of goods and services available for ALL people,
in large part because of the machines you help create.
I do not believe the solution is to try to find or make up jobs for the
jobless, but to find ways to distribute the goods and services to everyone
without most people "working" for them.
