This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Presenting The American Sweatshop: An Infographic Of The Online Retail Warehouse Temp Job
One of the biggest surprise stories of the past several months, in addition to economic activity skewing record warm weather, and the New Normal seasonal adjustments (which as Albert Edwards noted earlier are giving data an upward bias for each of the past three years), is the consistently "better than expected" jobs numbers. There is one problem: as discussed previously, the rising jobs are purely a quantity over quality trade off, as every month more and more temp jobs take the place of permanent ones, especially those of former professionals from the FIRE sector. In fact, in January temp jobs soared by the most on record, and the total number of temp workers was just shy of all time highs. Ironically, as this happened, discretionary online retail companies have seen their stock price soar to record highs. One of the primary drivers for this has been the increased "efficiency" at these companies' hubs - their warehouses. Which just happen to be staffed with temp workers. The following infographic presents the reality behind these American "sweatshops" - because this is the "quality" of job that is rising rapidly in the current economy (at the expense of traditional permanent jobs) to give the impression of an economic recovery. There is no point in making an ethical judgment - work conditions are as they are. Just as workers at FoxConn likely have far better conditions than their peers, at least in their view, so do these temp workers view their life as better than the alternative, which is unemployment. It is, as they say, what it is.
Brought to you by: Business Insurance Guide
»
- 18862 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Once again big government succeeds in "regulating" big business by putting up barriers to entry!
I bet very few of these workers would take these crappy jobs if it didn't cost $1 million to get a licence to drive a taxi, or thousands of dollars to get a licence to run a food cart. Amazon, etc, would have to offer better pay and conditions to attract workers to jobs like this.
The left thinks this is the inevitable effect of the free market, but it's the opposite.
These warehouse jobs don't seem that bad. Not saying I want one, but walking 12 miles a day should keep you from getting fat on all the cheap food you have to eat on $7 an hour. Plus, hey, if you're working 12 hour days then you don't have a lot of time for entertainment and you can save some money, perhaps faster than inflation takes it away.
Of course, if you're trying to pay your $300K mortgage and $100K student loan and $50K car payment on this wage then I say, "Hello debt slave!"
At $7.00 an hour it pays to grow your OWN food...
back in the day I had a few ugly jobs
railroad gang
warehouse worker
With respect to the former that was hell, before we moved to the hinterland we were in an urban area and I recall being on a retrofitted school bus with fellow gang workers (ex con types) looking out the window at familiar landmarks - it was prison
once to the hinterland I lasted a half day and high tailed it
Later that summer I ended up as a temp working in a warehouse - rasta men as collagues I was an outsider, the environment was toxic no ventalation and the warhouse was for shower curtains and the like
but the best was selling diamonds in a boiler room - great location high up in an office tower and a couple of guys running the scam ( I didn't know initially it was a scam) going thru the yellow pages for cities far and wide asking some guy running a transmission shop if he wanted info on the beneifts of diamonds, that lasted a day, never got paid and read later that year of a raid by the authorities.
nuff of memory lane I am starting to sound like Tim Knight
No wonder permanent full-time burger-flipper jobs are so in demand.
One time I remarked how difficult I found intermediate accounting 2 to be, and my dad said 'You know, they don't give accounting degrees away....' This is a man that did not graduate high school, but found his way in the Navy as a machinist, which he still does to this day (he is in his 70s). I have had my share of shit jobs including being a fish monger. Yes, if you are late in the first week then you are fired, Sorry, but get with the program: There are a lot of people out of work, and if you cannot show up on time, then they will.
Difference between hobby and a job it that job requires you to do it at X quality for X hours while being fully aware that majority of profits and productivity gains go to someone else and you have to kiss ass.
but consider yourself lucky that you are not born in North Korea where you literally are born inside a prison camp. upside is that you may not even be aware of the concept of money so no need to worry about inflation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms4NIB6xroc
I'm from Apple,
can you connect me to those kids. The small hands are needed to produce iPhone 5 at current margins, Peace and Love
And this makes it quite affordable:
earth box, http://youtu.be/LMorYCoPdLo
self-watering container garden, http://youtu.be/VZAy94ahPIw
using the self-watering containers with soil & plants, http://youtu.be/FBh1fjMqjmI
making the self-watering containers, http://youtu.be/QRZt2YG1VaY , http://youtu.be/rexQMPFNbN8
easiest way to cut your grocery bills is to simply eat less
no need to water gardens, mexican illegals are already doing that as cheap as humanly possible.
Just eat less.
The point is we can't really tell how popular these jobs would be unless the workers have the option of starting their own business instead like poor people have done throughout America's history (e.g. food cart, selling things off the back of a truck, odd jobs, taxi), which thanks to America's fantastic "regulations" (i.e. barriers to entry to keep the little people out of the game) arrests and fines anyone who doesn't have the "appropriate" licensing which just happens to cost $$$.
Maybe that's the big reason why average duration of unemployment is now like 35 weeks when it used to average like 10 weeks.
Barriers to entry, muppetz.
Say hello to the black market. Some of us fuck 'em every chance we get. And it's only going to get bigger. Hell......maybe some of my future relatives will be filthy fucking rich like the Kennedy's.
SO; Just what did you expect we were going to get when we excepted this "FREE TRADE"? The one percent got the government to sell us this, and we bought it. I think we were told there would be a large sucking sound. Does anyone remember hearing something like that?
Yeah, I remember us accepting the big sucker sound(s). That'd be the heat and fury of sheeple voting against their best economic interests, buying now, paying later and all the while thinking a college experience amounted to a pathway to a carefree life in the white collar tertiary economy as the Gammas toiled and fretted over how tough working with one's mind must be.
Yay, but I do remember it well.
damitt.
How many people are working under the table while collecting their 99 weeks of unemployment and living rent free while waiting for their homes to be foreclosed on?
I hate you.
If you care about your kids, let them experience what it's like to work hard like this. Then maybe they'll have some respect for their 12 years of free education and not waste it. Most people have choices. The truely disabled are the only ones deserving of our sympathy.
Welcome to America, the land of GOOOOOOOOD Jobs. Good god we are going down the tubes.
Buck, I'm trying to figure out this chatroom feature which is certainly compelling. And while I think that God is good, we aren't really going "down the tubes".
Bottom-line is many of us here were born into a post-WWII America, a/k/a were handed a winning lottery ticket. The value of that ticket may be depreciating quickly in a lot of eyes but it's certainly not worthless.
I think Gully Foyle nailed it below. A warehouse gig isn't the worst thing in the world.
If you are on this site, that means you are probably at least a tad ahead of the curve. As such, you'll probably be able to find a gig and thrive. Don't get your panties in a bunch over the "we" concept, however.
Boo fucking hoo. In the 80's I worked factory temp jobs. Places like MATCO would hire when orders became backlogged, then lay you off when they got caught up. People were caught in that cycle for years. MATCO, unemployment, maybe a shitty job in case MATCO called you back,
I worked for a temp agency at CUMMINS. At that time the regulars were scared because one of the southern plants closed their doors then opened the next day staffed with temps.
CUMMINS had some serious issues, even though this particular factory was nonunion, they never fired the full time fuckups.
For example, I started third shift engine test. We were hired because the previous crew would lunch at a nearby bar and never return. They were moved other areas. Most of the time we had nothing to do for half the shift.
These warehouse jobs pay better than what I made as a fulltime temp busting my ass in a hot factory.
No bennies either.
So I'm unimpressed with the whining. At least they have fucking jobs.
I have to agree with some of the other posters here. Besides the pay and crap bennies, it doesn't sound all that bad. Hard work never killed anyone and the reluctance of young Americans to take on an honest blue collar job is symptomatic of deeper social issues IMO.
All of the above working conditions apply to my job except for the pay. But I did have to start at the bottom making minimum wage until I moved up the ladder.
You sound like a puss wad and like someone who believes there is something like an infinite ladder of success similar to the status quo of the past 150 years?
Fuck you and the status quo you rode in on bitchez
I didn't say that it is easier to move up the social ladder then in prior generations. 100 years of central bank intervention has assured that is not the case for us.
That said, fucking blow me. Life ain't easy and it ain't fair. You want to give yourself something better, you're going to have to work for it. That's true no matter what era you live in.
You sound like someone who blames the world for all his failures in life instead of trying to figure out where you fucked things up.
A lot of the corruption in government has been instituted under the guise of making things, "fair".
You sound like someone who blames the world for all his failures in life instead of trying to figure out where you fucked things up.
I have lived my life in an era where if you haven't succeeded, you have no one to blame but yourself. Not so with the current generation as they are living through the decline side of the curve. There is no ladder for many of the current generation, keeping wages low is a policy to prevent out of control inflation. Immigration policy is...
Dude, I'm 33. People 10 years my junior I have more sympathy for. But it hasn't been easy for my family either. We've worked our asses off. Don't pass judgement on me for bucking the odds. I'd love to see a reset so my kids have a chance to build a better future.
Nobody gives a shit about exploited workers in Amerika, they're too busy worrying about those poor Foxconn employees.
it didn't cost $1 million to get a licence to drive a taxi,
_________________________________________
Starting a taxi business in rising oil prices environment.
Excellent idea.
But hey, the oil prices have all to do with regulations and stuff.
So once removed, prices down, taxi businesses are the best.
Well at least there's no inflation to cut into their meager slave wage............
They can munch on iCrap while on the job.
Sorry, cell phone use is grounds for dismissal.
Some fine jobs America created.
They may not last long.
Amazon now owns Kiva and is looking to automate. I would advising kids to seek education in Information Tech, and Information Security.
Pretty much sums up my life.
You know you're in a Depression when selling T-shirts out of the back of a car is the fastest growing job.
And not accepting Federal Reserve Notes as payment.
Accepting Tide Ultra as payment!
The great clownbux exodus has begun!
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-tide-thieves-20120...
You know you're in a Depression when selling T-shirts out of the back of a car is the fastest growing job.
I'll just keep sitting on my ass
edit: and it's fat
Don't worry, Kommiefornia to the rescue!
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/20/4350926/the-buzz-undocumented-immigrant...
California Assembly gives standing ovation to 5 illegals
And very bullish :
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/goldman-sachs-best-time-generati...
In a research note out this morning, "The Long Good Buy," Goldman's chief global equity strategist, Peter Oppenheimer, unveils a whopper: "The prospects for future returns in equities relative to bonds are as good as they've been in a generation."
Excellent! I cannot wait for amnesty to bring in some new tax livestock to ease the burden for the rest of us.
Let me be bold and venture outside the box by detailing a thought experiment:
It's no secret that Apple uses slave labor and people LOVE their products, ironically even those descended from slaves themselves.
Let's take a random state, I'll use South Dakota (purely as example). What would happen if you removed 90% of labor laws to SD? You removed the min wage requirement, let children work, took away worker compensation, labor unions would be outlawed, everything. I'm not saying throw shackles on the workers and whipping them, just removing most of the regulations regarding employment for that one state.
What do you think would happen to the economy in South Dakota? Would it get better, or get worse?
Wouldn't outlawing labor unions be a regulation in itself? Also, isn't workman's comp a compromise on both ends? Ie the worker gives up their right to sue in exchange for the workman's comp? I don't see why you need regulations to have such a system, you could simply make it part of the contract when you hire someone.
Yea, but that's why I said 90%. Labor unions in SD would be against the law in whole.
In my thought experiment the worker get's nothing if he get's hurt. He has also has no right to sue.
Point taken. I just dislike it when people say stuff like "Ban unions" because a real union is just a form of free association. I realize what they've become mainly is some sort of state sponsored monster in general though nowadays.
Also I'm personally undecided on what rights workers should have to sue their employers, but I will agree it is WAY WAY too easy to sue an employer and employer's rights are trampled on constantly.
Don't forget this is a thought experiment, not a philosophical discussion on unions.
Couldn't said regulationless company stipulate that they had right to fire workers of said union arbitrarily?
In my thought experiment the worker get's nothing if he get's hurt. He has also has no right to sue.
Eliminate vicarious liability? Interesting idea. Make the worker carry his own worker's comp and liability insurance. Oh wait, that would be make him/her a freelancer/sub-contractor.
Sure. The world needs more entrepreneurs and freelancers, and fewer wage laborers and corrupt corporations and labor unions. Everyone should be self-employed. I think Lysander Spooner suggested that way back in 1850-something.
I think we had the largest middle class in the world without labor unions at one point.
Can you argue against that?
How did Detroit do with one of the largest labor unions in the country; the UAW???
Describe Detroit to me.
South Dakota would become the American Hong Kong, and quickly become the wealthiest state in the country
I don't agree.
The United States wasn't built with unions or labor laws.
As such, I can't agree with your premise.
We have only had a shrinking middle class with aforementioned.
Only if the Feds can resist the temptation to keeps its grubby paws of SD...like the Brits did with HK.
bob, You are either pulling our dick with this trash, or you are just plain fucking stupid.
"I think we had the largest middle class in the world without labor unions at one point."
The statement above, although hedged with 'I think', is completely incorrect.
I won't argue the point because I think you only joking but if want the evidence do the fucking homework and READ HISTORY.
I will not help anyone who is just plain fucking stupid om
Shit, I forgot what a troll you are---you 'gotme'
You're a fucking ignorant fuck puppet. Are fucking shitting me? YOU THINK LABOUR UNIONS BUILT THIS COUNTRY?
Holy fucking shit.
This country WENT TO SHIT when labor started to unionize. Have you lost your mind? One of the things I hate is people who really don't know what the fuck they're talking about. Just go and fuck yourself.
This was supposed to be "thought experiment" The only thing realized is that you're a stupid shit.
bob,
You disappoint me.
You are just plain fucking stupid; READ HISTORY.
And also, learn how to read----- I never mentioned "LABOUR UNIONS". I merely said that your statement, which you now claim, I assume, without the hedge of 'I think' because it is obvious that you haven't this capacity, was incorrect.
Now, I see that it is more than 'incorrect', that you just made it up and are going to rest your whole case on your imagination rather than history. There is no more for us to talk about because, it seems, you are not only 'just plain fucking stupid', but also a liar and a dude who likes to piss people off.
Tell you what, bob-----this isn't the real Fight Club and I am an oldman, but you tempt me to break my vow of non-violence enough that if you were in front of me, I'd have go at your ragged ass RIGHT NOW! I have NO tolerance for bullies.
There,my friend----you got me again---be careful, please, not everyone you bray at is going to be a wino in the street
or an old lady selling flowers----I love newyorkers, if that's who you are om
History is clear that unions built the middle class.
No /sarc. That's the facts.
@Meelion
Correct om
I am neither for, nor against unions. I am against BOTH Wagner and Taft-Hartley.
I was actually being serious when I said everyone shoulsd be self-employed. Didn't mean to sound sarcastic.
I would say that it would get worse because in addition to downward pressure on wages there would be increased inflation due to the artificial economic expansion relative to the surrounding areas/states. Yes, some would benefit greatly but generally standards of living when all is factored would decrease.
Then why aren't prices sky high in Mexico?
Because Mexico can't print money globally...and they have an elephant oil field or two. They also have millions of citizens who are allowed to work in the U.S. and bring U.S. dollars(and social security checks) back home to Mexico.
Well Mexico is also a bad example for some other reasons... I think Bob says it better below...
Actually, prices ARE sky high in Mexico. Inflation has set in.
I would think SD would be a magnet for entrepreneurs. It would be the competition for wage that would set what workers would get paid, and as a worker, you would be compensated for what you're worth.
I would think the standard of living would improve, though, not for everyone. If you aren't worth much as a worker you wouldn't be compensated well.
So in otherwords, it would attract smarter and more capable workers. As a result a more capable, and intelligent community (which would benefit the whole)
Have you ever been to South Dakota? They are not exactly swimming in arable land and the water it takes for farming much less industry. It takes a shitload of water for manufacturing.
Ya know, the Romans figured out the aqueduct. Some people in Africa haven't figured out how to feed themselves.
I'm sure if the business climate was right, and industry was booming, people in South Dakota would get the water.
In fact, most of the water in L.A comes from Colorado.
What if all the water is already accounted for by, "the right business climate" Bob?
Well, what if, SD BLEW UP (good thing) economically? What if all kinds of business moved to SD?
What if L.A had to compete for the water that SD started consuming as a result of a newly booming economy?
California is a better example rather than your absurd South Dakota one. Have you ever been to California? I have been all over California and I can tell you that farming is already crowded out somewhat for water by other industries, government, residential, etc. Fresh water is a zero sum game in California.
What if L.A had to compete for the water that SD started consuming as a result of a newly booming economy?
Everybody is already competing with everybody else for water in California and guess who wins?
Whoever the government says, thats who...
Two words dumb-ass............ Thought experiment.
Don't waste your time. He doesn't get it.
Better yet build your ultimate corporate state in the cradle of the earth, say Congo. Plenty of rain, water, game, resources.
The Congo lacks one crucial ingredient.
White or Asian people.
Otherwise it would be a powerhouse.
Shit, Rhodesia was doing pretty well until Mugabe kicked all the whites out.
Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe and we know how that is....shithole.
Couldn't you fly skilled workers in? Shoot, get all those Marines coming back home from Afghanistan and start a blackwater contingent that keeps the compound "secure".
It's a WIN-WIN.
They kill eachother by the millions. Why waste the ammo?
Not really, you make 2~3x the amount of money you were getting in the USMC, and there were none of those pesky Genevea conventions to worry about, just 9001 ISO certification. Can't be shoving that .223 into our guns that was made for 5.56 mm Lake City, now can we?
Don't forget the all inclusive resort for company workers and security personnel? I'd be like one big vay-cay in Cozumel, but with some guy that looked like Donald Plesance as the CEO.
Pretty sure you just ended your thought experiment.
The first bad sign was denying the benefits of unions to the economy, to the middle class, despite history.
Ending it with a claim that whites & asians are the only viable workers pretty much means we can dismiss you now.
African nations have been stomped down by colonial powers. It takes a while to fight back out of that & all sorts of things can go wrong, like Mugabe's move to take away ownership arbitrarily.
Dumb-ass dogmatic thought experiments rather than sound reasoning is what has created the mess.
You're thinking a bit to linear. That things would continue to be done in the same exact ways.
Permaculture methods, which require far less water, might flourish for instance.
Permaculture is <insert gratuitous generality> if you are talking sustainable steady state. If you are perpetuating infinite growth models then you are barking up the wrong tree(linearly).
Wage arbatrage would push down wages across the US.
The benefits of such a system in SD would go to the connected, cronies, elites.
A few elites would get rich, but shelter their income from taxes
Overall, wages and tax receipts would go down, bankrupting the state.
The state would privatize, with the benefits going to the connected, cronies and elites.
The rest would be low income debt peons in a neo-feudal system.
I disagree, though that's an interesting perspective.
New businesses would spring up, and inovation would flourish. Natural counterbalances to downward wage pressure.
Artificial? How? What we have now is artificial...busywork, paid for by debt and currency destruction
Artificial? How? What we have now is artificial...busywork, paid for by debt and currency destruction
And you expect what we have now to magically go away by who's magic wand?
You would be running away while chased by a mob armed with pipes, hammers and guns.
This is what we have now...only we call them cops, the were granted a monopoly on force and they have guns.
Short term worse, while everything rebalances. Long term, who knows. I still has to work within the Federal system. I say it improves, till the Feds step in and manufacture a problem, which they will promptly attempt to "solve."
Right now we don't have to compete with low labor on this problem, but one day we will. This country is going in reverse big time.
I think it would get worse. Migration ability to other regions within the USA and nearby outside the USA is possible. This means once workers get hurt too much, the first wave won't be able to leave due to injuries but will tell the next wave they'll lose more than they'll gain, then they'll leave. They won't come back, nor will their children.
Here is one for ya'll....
I have not purchased a single new electronic item, piece of plastic, as seen on TV piece of shit in years and I never felt better...
Cmon, not even a Snuggie? It's got a trap door for your rump!
>> I have not purchased a single new electronic item,
How are you getting on the internet?
3+ year old computer, or borrowing a friends computer? :)
These working conditions are identical everywhere, not only in the US.
Bullshit. Most of western Europe has higher minimum wages, better workers rights, more holidays, higher overtime, etc
The consumer just has to pay more for the goods!
As a european I can assure you that working conditions in part time jobs are almost the same.
Where did you hear they're better, on the CNBC maybe?
How's the prison industrial complex looking these days? Free room, board, clothing & full-time employment? The new American dream: Raise your children in captivity.
we are already in captivity.
How awful. The stress of the job has made one (and only one) of his eyebrows turn gray.
That's not an eyebrow, that is an iBrow, the new above the eye bluetooth device.
Holy shit. I bet you played "Where's Waldo" a lot as a kid.
I've hired temp workers in the past. I paid a flat hourly fee. The agency took care of payroll and liability and workman's comp insurance. It is a Hell of a lot easier and cheaper than hiring and maintaining permanent workers.
Imagine if you could pay regular full time employee a fixed hourly wage, and be done with it.
THERE'S your solution for unemployment.
is this a Foxconn warehouse in Nevada? Just askin?
The graphic is from Mother Jones, and they may have a bias toward finding reasons for the proletariat to get pissed. Part of Alinskys agitation strategy.
I think one learns to enjoy hard work from the family environment. rewards come from hard work if the work is not made to appear as a punishment like having to do the dishes every day for the next two weeks because of a bad grade in school. If you get good grades the dishes still have to get done. Therefore you have to learn to get shitty jobs done as efficiently as possible to get onto somthing better. I used to be a tree planter and some ground was better than others and when you are on a piece rate you have to go like hell in the tough ground to getr to the good ground where you go like hell to get as much as you can. along the way you learn how to get shit done. some of this is attitude some of it is know how. not all carpenters are equal. selling shit is not work unless it is garden produce or stock you own. now adays salesmen are liars like the morgage industry people of recent years.
This info grafic is designed for the socialist entitlement crowd. the planet is fucked.
oh, boohoo 12 hour shifts with no breaks. I work 12 1/2 hours and OPT OUT of lunch breaks. Only bitches need to eat so often.
No wonder America can't compete: too many softass losers who want to be overcompensated for anything they do.
I wonder how many people on their death bed wish that they worked more?
Only the entrepreneurs.
You will never work as hard as when you work for yourself.
My Grandmama told me that. No shit.
Justin Bieber must have given you the "Red 1." I wish that bastard would stay on youtube where he fucking belongs.
I don't see it as work: I see it as self-improvement. If I don't test myself and push myself, what the fuck good is it?
Uber Vandal
"I wonder how many people on their death bed wish that they worked more?"
All the ones who enjoyed working. I imagine there are quite a few older people with that mindset. For many work was a new type of family unit where strong ties were forged that frequently outlasted the normal family.
@GF
Point taken.
However.....
I have personally watched relatives wither away before my eyes, and donate all of their hard earned money to the nursing home and/or doctor's office.
I also have had two friends of mine die, one from cancer, one in an accident, both before their 40th birthday.
None of the people above mentioned to me that they wished they worked more, esp. my friend who had cancer.
I hate people who won't skip lunch. I had a bunch of cablers once, and if goddamn they didn't get a sonic toaster sandiwch at 11:30 am they'd start fidgeting.
I heard grazing throughout the day is the key to staying skinny though.
The problem with grazing is if your job will not permit it by policy, or if it's unsafe due to chemicals, machines, etc.
Sure, I'll skip a lunch break if I get 3 breaks on shift instead to eat small snacks & keep going. I actually hate the "I ate too much too quickly" feeling of a lunch break. I'd be happier with 1/4 or 1/3rd a sandwich in 3 breaks in a 10 hour shift. At that pace if I feel I'm somehow lacking nutrition I'll load up a larger meal before work starts or after it finishes. Considering the health of most people I bet that would lead to better nutrition if people pack their snacks, not use fast food, and if people walk a bit more instead of having sedentary jobs.
OMG, you mean you can't talk on your cell phone while working? And if you are late there are consequences, including dismissal if this is a repeated issue?
The horror.
What about the STATIC ELECTRICITY hazard! I want my workers comp for dat shit man.
Fuck the US.
And in other news they can start slashing new jobs as soon as AMZN starts implementing it's new robotic warehouse workers that they just bought for almost $1billion bux.
This shit has gone to far. =FAIL.
Meh. Ikea has been using an automated warehouse for years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKA98_vKs8A
Eventually you'll need robot buyers at this rate. It won't last forever. Everyone is fighting to make the big bux now because you can't take it with you. Screw future generations.
Criticising robots is ridiculous unless you think all robots used in all industry are bad. Electronic assemblies? Cars? Deep sea welding? Martian Explorers? Bomb defusing? Nuclear reactor loading?
Of course some would say the Luddites were right and I'd be inclined to agree with them, and you.
I cried when John Henry died at the end of the story. Didn't you?
[/sarcasm]
They have there uses. Problem is big$ they think that includes everything. Your another 'big tek' nerd that is a blinded fool.
For example.........when computers first came on the scene there was 1 computer and 120 techs. Now there is 120 computers and 1 tech. There is a point of negative returns.
Ya, but IKEA makes you put your own shit together after you buy it.
Quite ingenious.
Like the Minecraft model of video game programming. Lots of mods are made by others, not Mojang, and the game itself is YOU building stuff from the game into objects and tools that you use to get more stuff in the game to build more objects and tools... in other words, no one needs to fuss around making maps & objectives ahead of time.
Quite clever for saving complexity, costs & roll-out time.
Amazon won't have to deal with this stuff from the Mother Jones article much longer now that they bought Kiva.
the world needs ditch diggers, too..
We better hope robots need people. And not in the Wachowski brothers sense.
7$/hour. The 1% will be getting a tax cut via Rep. Ryans bill. Something wrong here.
World needs more IPADS and IPHONEs and those who keep buying those apps can be broke and keep the economy going.
looks like i would be fired at 9:12 AM
Damn!
Next thing you know there will be robots running those wharehouses.
This clip, relating to robots is from the BBC "Not The Nine O Clock News" which was made about 32 years ago.
You might spot Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) in it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU-tuY0Z7nQ
and the advert(s) it parodied (sort of)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WaglhAA0nY & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNPTlT8HXjk
Already done.
at amazon
at staples
Thanks to Kiva
Where's all the mention of Mcdonald's hamburger mfg jobs? I'm sorry...but when MCD is put in the spotlight to passive us then you know you're fucked. And if you don't.......well then maybe you'll make a good employee.
Great article.
Obesity solved faster than a Liberace watermellon diet.
Temporary shovel ready jobs.
Business Goals at Lehman:
1. Get home owners to borrow more and more money for home loans as sub prime.
2. Make sure the loans are sold on as per Dickie boy - "We are in he removals business not the storage business"
3. Wash all the money through offshore entities umpteen times until no tax is paid.
4. Hire special talent bankers (award winning) who cook up the process with deals such as lay off power company FX exposures to customers in New Jersey
5. Off shore as many jobs as possible at the same time as western world workers earning more than 10K are "too expensive"
ANY ONE SPOT WHY THIS BUSINESS MODEL IS NOW OVER ?
Sad but true. I did this for 2 years because the job market sucked, among other things. Most of this is true. The warehouse I worked at 3 people died. My life was probably in jeopardy everyday I walked in the door as well. Compare it to walking around on a street with cars driving around very slow. You are working the entire time, no downtime. My current job currently has no downtime either, and I actually miss the exercise. Most of the people were immigrants and discriminated against the white people lets say the ratio was 70 to 1, which made it more difficult feeling alienated. Plus the managers go out of their way to please the immigrants. Everybody gets paid the same crap wage because the immigrants don't care how much they make, its better than Mexico therefore everybody gets the same crap wage. Thats why there is a push for robotics, because one day the people will revolt and realize they are getting screwed over.
Most people in the USA are overpaid and lazy. This is the new reality. Hard work means nothing. Its easier to make money from money than labor. That is why so much money is being printed because peoples livelihoods depend on speculation and making money off their money or jacking up prices on the crap they import or design. Its very obvious importers make more than exporters. Greed and is their key.
The truth
Often it's hard to find
The truth
sometimes it leaves you blind
The truth
It brings you to the light
The truth
Showing you wrong from right
Ayn Rand approves!
All peasants are going to need Forklift Operator Training and Certification to comply with the New Government Penalty System. For only $49.99, you can receive a permit in transporting your debt obligations legally . Don’t be caught without your certification papers. Transporting your debt obligations into another state must first be approved by the ICC and DHS compliance laws.
/sarc
I don't feel sorry for the under 30 people in these warehouse jobs. They're lucky they have a job.
"Kids" today are spoiled ROTTEN. No education, No morals, no value system, no work ethic, etc. etc.
They don't feel they have to show up on time or call in if they are sick. I had one kid that worked for me who didn't show up after lunch one day. I asked him why. He said QUOTE , "I had to go to a friends birthday party."
He was dead serious. So fuck these lazy assholes of todays workforce. Letem go hungry
Maybe we should be asking why the under 30 crowd has those characteristics. Not sure the blame rests solely on them.
Don't worry, hairball 38 has another anecdotal experience with the under 30 crowd to refute any generalities you may conjur up.
How(not why) they are "lazy", "don't want to work", etc.
Regarding "anecdotal experiences"...Mighty right I can.
Life is just one long anecdotal experience...and at 64 I've had a lot of "experience".
One of the chief complaints I hear from employers in my area about "young people" is, "They simply don't want to work".
Now, I will concede not "every" young person is a lazy SOB, but far too many are.
"and at 64 I've had a lot of "experience""
You're more screwed than I imagined.
Isn't it coincidental how the unemployed become 'lazy' and 'poorly trained' - right when we're in a depression.
It's almost like they're desperate to blame someone for their own failures...
"They also use different wings of the state to uphold their capitalist ideology. For example, the government attacks on single parents or the continual harassment and implication of laziness in relation to the long-term unemployed. In this way they attempt to deflect blame from themselves onto the victims of their system and undermine the confidence of those who campaign for better benefits."
http://www.marxism.org.uk/pack/state.html
It's an observation which is only over 100 years old...maybe hairball is too young to know about it?
They are "adults" now. Nobody to blame but themsleves.
You sound like the, "Libertarian who's parents either worked for the government or their income was derived indirectly from the government/central planners.
If you were the least bit analytical you would be stupified by your ignorance.
Guilty of being a libertarian with a small "l"
My father worked in PR and had a business of his own. He never worked for the gov't unless you count the USN during WWII. My mother never worked.
I've never claimed to be brilliant like you and many others on here...I'm just a redneck who's been around the block a few times.