Rayanne Tamayo: Robots replacing workers, blame the Nanny State

Re “Promises of abundant warehouse jobs in state fall flat, thanks to robots” (Page 6D, Dec. 11): California passed a law to raise minimum wage annually until it reaches $15. Instead of encouraging – and allowing employers to demand – higher education and more skills in exchange for better pay, California rewards workers $11 on Jan. 1 for performing low-skilled jobs with no increased production or skills. At 16 my first job was slinging burgers. I never considered working a minimum-wage job while raising a family, and would never have demanded more pay with nothing extra to offer. California stepped in to ensure low-skilled adults would land the entry-level jobs while punishing eager 16-year-olds looking for their first jobs.

The incentive to be a skilled worker is quickly withering, making a four-year college degree almost mandatory. How many of those adult burger-slingers will finish college? How many 16-year-olds will be ready to work a warehouse job at 20 with no chance or opportunity to land a job now? Companies are in business to make money, and they will always find a way around artificially rewarding workers for bringing nothing more to the table. We can thank the Nanny State of California for pushing employers to automate instead – robots replacing workers are the consequence, not the cause.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Rayanne Tamayo: Robots replacing workers, blame the Nanny State."