Eugene L. Conrotto: Space-age automation is a marvel, but it kills jobs
The supercarrier U.S.S Gerald R. Ford, which President Trump visited recently, gives us a preview of a social holocaust to come. The ship is a marvel of space-age technology. So advanced is the Ford that it can operate with a crew of only 2,800, compared to the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, the 10th and last of the Nimitz-class carriers, which requires a crew of 6,000. This example of automation replacing humans is a harbinger of a world that will either treat the displaced, non-machine-owning class with progressive, social entitlements or treat it with ghetto-entrapping disdain.
We must begin action now on how we want to shape that world. Universal single-payer health insurance is a start.
Eugene L. Conrotto, Modesto
This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Eugene L. Conrotto: Space-age automation is a marvel, but it kills jobs."