Marshall Brain: We are about to see a seismic shift in the American workforce

[Zalatix]

75. Ayup, and we're going to be waiting for decades for that next big thing.

In the 1900s the automobile factory was clearly rising against the horse and buggy cart.

What we're seeing now is quite unique - jobs are disappearing into automation and nothing is replacing these jobs. Unlike the 1900s, it is unknown what is replacing our jobs today. The problem is, no new job boom has been coming for the last 12 years; that's half a generation. In this economy that's an extremely long time - like 20 to 30 years by 1900 standards.

You yourself admitted you don't know what's coming. That's pretty unique. The Internet replaced AT&T switch operators and a lot of them simply transitioned over. There's nothing for millions of out of work Americans to transition to - except lower-paying service jobs if those jobs ever reappear, which they have not. There hasn't been anything since the Dotcom bust.

And... Craigslist? Chinese factories can easily undercut you on dolls. Remember what you said about being able to make money off anyone you can ship to? Well, so can China, and thanks to a lack of tariffs, they can make anything cheaper.

So yes, you can ask the question... when is the next job boom coming? We've been waiting for 12 years since the Dotcom crash happened. We'll be waiting into the indefinite future. That's a problem. That's part of why we have so many unemployed, and why our economy crashed in 2008: job growth has lagged behind population growth for over a decade, and wages have lagged behind inflation for the same period.

As for Manna - things are approaching situations like that in places like China. Look up 'cage people'. The Government is pushing for ISPs to monitor traffic and store your activities for them to browse whenever they want to; and then there was Bush's warrantless wiretapping. They've got cameras at almost every street corner in Britain and they're pushing for it here. Hell, Google just about has that covered. And finally? We may DEMAND quality, but if you have no money, you cannot afford to receive quality. You'll get terrafoam if you are unemployed because you can't afford better and the 1% will have the money to force you to take it. You seriously underestimate Social Darwinism and its power in modern America.

So let us recap: you are saying that automation creates jobs. I'm asking you to show us the jobs. You say you don't have a crystal ball and you can't show me the jobs.

So.... why should the working class believe you and disbelieve the last 12 years of current events?