It's a shame opening an issue can so easily be used as a frustration outlet, yet there's no equivalent feature to show that you love a project without burdening a maintainer with an issue.
I personally enjoy being on both the sending and receiving end of message of thanks.
> This is partly why I don't understand the left's animosity towards Trump's economic plan - he intends to bring jobs back to the US by hobbling corporations that have been exploiting poorer countries for profit
Because it won't work. Tell a company to pay higher wages for the same positions by bringing them home, and that'll push them toward automation even faster.
These jobs may return for a short while. But that only brings false hope. And then we're right back to where we are today, hurting even more people in the process. It's extremely short-sighted.
Also note that Foxconn has already begun automating their plants. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36376966 So it's already a demonstratably viable option for these companies.
What we really need is to bring _automation_ home and have some serious discussions around solutions for these real struggling people instead of spouting the hand-wavy "bringing jobs back to the US" rhetoric.
> Because it won't work. Tell a company to pay higher wages for the same positions by bringing them home, and that'll push them toward automation even faster.
We're nowhere close to 100% automation. To create a successful return of manufacturing jobs doesn't mean replacing every single job that went overseas.
It doesn't have to be 100% for it to affect people depending on this industry.
> doesn't mean replacing every single job that went overseas
Sure. But again, assuming there will be enough manufacturing jobs that do return, this is still a _short-term_ solution. You're fooling yourself, and a lot of hard-working people, if you believe these jobs will stick around another 10 years.
Let me take a step back for a moment. If doing this eases the daily struggle for real people nation-wide, that's convincing. But let's not then sweep the real discussions around automation under the rug. Let's address this now before the jobs inevitably dissolve again.
Most Americans don't really have a choice. There's just not enough time and energy for self-direction after a 40+ hour work week.
The evidence is in age (and those who do have the extra time). Children are incredibly curious and self-motivated. Teenagers are too, if you give them the opportunity and guidance. If you're lucky enough to go to college, you have a pocket of time to try things and tinker (in addition to the easier-to-find socializing aspect) before the realization of how much debt hits you. People in their 20s-60s aren't self-motivated because work occupies most of their time. Not the other way around.
Also, for being in a field that relies on creativity and changing people's perspective and habits, saying that it's a non-starter because people are cynical and won't change is not being very creative.
> But there’s lots of collateral damage inherent in the free market — in “blowing up the system,” as Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like to say. Such explosions are great for the bomb manufacturers, but not so much for innocent bystanders.
This seems to be the overlooked point here. In business, it can be profitable to disrupt and go after sweeping changes. In government, you can hurt real people in large numbers by doing so.
Also, the article isn't implying that companies can't or won't do good. Companies can certainly work well across income ranges. The point is, that's still a different goal than working well across all income ranges.
It really helps my focus on long articles that are otherwise hard on the eyes. I know there's Readability and all, but this extension works without any additional steps once set up.
> One of the problems with basic income is that decouples work from income entirely
It does, but not entirely. You can still work for extra income. It only breaks the dependency in the other direction. And that's its strength.
The gig economy, while incredible and empowering, is also unstable and largely out of your control. You can have an influx of work at one moment, and near zero another. BI smooths this over by allowing you to survive during the dips. It also reduces the toxic stress contractors can experience even during a wave of work. When the gigs run out (and therefore, the income is less under BI--but not zero!), it gives you time to seek out new work without panicking.
Been using My Style [1] for readability on his site. Even this small tweak helped:
[1]: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/my-style/ljdhjpmbn...