What to do when the jobs disappear?

[OnlinePoker]

Technology is rapidly disappearing even minimum wage jobs like retail clerks and burger flippers. 3D printing has the potential to disappear more manufacturing jobs that robots aren't doing already and have even been used to print out houses in China. A lot of news articles are being written by computer programs now rather than humans. Driverless cars and trucks are just around the corner. When the requirement for both entry-level and skilled employment is gone, what will humanity do with itself? How will governments extract tax money when nobody is even making a wage to live?

[immoderate]

1. Not a new problem.

Here are some thoughts on 'automation socialism' written by a friend.
http://socialistwebzine.blogspot.com/2009/09/automation-socialism.html

--imm

[hunter]

2. There's never any shortage of things to do.

Make certain everyone has a safe comfortable place to live, is as educated as they can be, is never hungry, and has easy access to appropriate medical care.

Fix the things that need fixing; reduce and eliminate fossil fuel use, restore wetlands and other damaged environments, relocate communities that are in immediate danger from changing climates, train and hire new teachers from preschool to university professors...

So far as the economy is concerned, create money to create jobs, and control inflation by steeply progressive taxation.

Personally, I think we should go so far as to tax the uber-wealthy and politically powerful classes entirely out of existence.

The CEOs of the giant corporations should live in the same neighborhoods as their lowest paid employees and send their kids to the same schools. Bigger houses, more expensive cars, maybe a nice boat, fancier vacations, but not so wealthy that they can buy the political process.