The world economy is in the midst of dramatic changes, driven largely by technology. Automation is replacing industrial workers, and now computer technology is starting to replace many office workers.
This will have a dramatic impact on the world and the American economy, and on the lives and opportunities of many Americans.
Politicians argue about debt limits and tax rates, but those will only have a small impact on the economy. The real impact is technology.
The Associate Press is running a series of articles on the impact of technology on the worlds economy. A link can be found here: Recession, Tech Kill Middle-Class Jobs.
The link is to a Windstream news feed and I cant guarantee its usefulness.
Here are three key quotes that neatly sum up the report:
- For more than three decades, technology has reduced the number of jobs in manufacturing. Robots and other machines controlled by computer programs work faster and make fewer mistakes than humans. Now, that same efficiency is being unleashed in the service economy, which employs more than two-thirds of the workforce in developed countries. Technology is eliminating jobs in office buildings, retail establishments and other businesses consumers deal with every day.
- Thanks to technology, companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index reported one-third more profit the past year than they earned the year before the Great Recession. They’ve also expanded their businesses, but total employment, at 21.1 million, has declined by a half-million.
- Technology is replacing workers in developed countries regardless of their politics, policies and laws. Union rules and labor laws may slow the dismissal of employees, but no country is attempting to prohibit organizations from using technology that allows them to operate more efficiently and with fewer employees.
