First Blog

 T he rise of automation has redefined industry, bringing unprecedented efficiency to production. This transformation began with Henry Ford (1863–1947), who pioneered the moving assembly line. By standardizing production and streamlining labor, Ford reduced the cost of his automobiles, notably the Model T, from $825 to $575—a reduction of over 30%. Such a drastic decrease in cost reshaped the automotive industry and set the precedent for mass production in nearly every sector. Today, mobile and automated assembly lines dominate manufacturing, increasing efficiency but also redefining the nature of work itself. The benefits of automation are undeniable: greater productivity, lower costs, and widespread availability of goods that would have been luxuries in earlier times. However, this progress has not come without sacrifice. In Ford’s early factories, skilled craftsmen were replaced by workers performing specialized, repetitive tasks. Management structures evolved to oversee procure...

If you dig ditches for a living, and a robot replaces you, what can you do?   Certainly not repair robots. This requires quite a skill level quite beyond the dig.   You’re out. While it’s true automation creates new jobs, it is false those so replaced will qualify.   The diggers of the ditch is not an asset class. ---------------------------------- Heavy stirrings in this world are afoot, and they are out “to convert” you to the “true beliefs.”   Whose true beliefs?   Mine, of course.   These stirrings are in all Western countries, or more generally democratic countries where people can make decisions by vote.   The tools directed against the unbeliever arrive as words in print, social media, and television. There are also placards, T-shirts, and hats of all varieties. They are often profane, sometimes political, frequently delirious, but mostly sum to filth. In fact, human nature is to emphasize, proselytize, and criticize for (you to) chang...

The costs of education are astronomical - and rising. Jobs lost to automation, a hot topic in the past century, have been lost for centuries.  There once was a job "purifier" in old England and other countries wherein the job holder would collect animal feces and sell them to tanneries. Until the 1920's (horse) harness makers made a good living. Then came cars.   Until the 1960's there was the job of elevator operator.  No longer as the vast majority of elevators are now automatic.   There are hundreds of examples.  Large categories of jobs have been lost only in the past few decades. Consider Auto Plant Assembly Workers Factory Jobs Farming Telephone Operators Cashiers Tollbooth Collectors Many are no more or a shadow of their former prominence.  What is the reason for these changes?  Technology is one reason and it figures high.  Some jobs just disappear because they were no longer needed.  Equally important ...