CSNbbs

Not a joke. Even menial ag labor is being reworked by automation.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustai...oming-soon

Quote:Harvest’s Jones, who helped invent the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, says they traveled the country talking to farmers and nursery owners before they decided what kind of agricultural robot to create.When they saw workers straining to move heavy pots around in a nursery in Sudbury, Mass., the light bulb went on. “We watched a bunch of people doing this job and we thought, if we can’t build a robot that does this, we’re in the wrong business,” Jones says.

What, no hand trucks?

(12-13-2012 10:15 AM)smn1256 Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:Harvest’s Jones, who helped invent the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, says they traveled the country talking to farmers and nursery owners before they decided what kind of agricultural robot to create.When they saw workers straining to move heavy pots around in a nursery in Sudbury, Mass., the light bulb went on. “We watched a bunch of people doing this job and we thought, if we can’t build a robot that does this, we’re in the wrong business,” Jones says.

What, no hand trucks?

Yeah, good question. All I can say is that $30K for a robot probably gets you payback in 2-3 years. That's pretty good. $100K and you probably never get payback.

Oh, and Obamacare certainly doesn't help the laborers.

If you think about it, if you can reliably automate something you don't have sick time, overtime, vacations, worker's comp, unions, insurance, theft, etc. Makes perfect sense to do it whenever you can. Now the left will tell you it eliminates jobs, but someone has to design, build, sell, and maintain the automatons. And if recall, these are the jobs Americans don't want anyway, so let's have at it.

(12-13-2012 10:27 AM)smn1256 Wrote: [ -> ]If you think about it, if you can reliably automate something you don't have sick time, overtime, vacations, worker's comp, unions, insurance, theft, etc.

You do have down time w/ repairs.

You also have limited flexibility as to what tasks it can perform.

Quote: Makes perfect sense to do it whenever you can.

That's why this low price is so important. You can afford these, even w/ their limited task set.

Today people need skills to be more than factory workers. That's why my posts so often connect to education...leftist education built on creating factory serfs completely fails.

I used to do a lot of this at my last job. Part of my ROI was replacing personnel with machines and equipment. People paid big bucks to find a way to eliminate payroll expenses.

BY READING THIS POST YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IMATY IS THE LAST GREAT CRUSADER FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE SO HELP YOU GOD.

(12-14-2012 10:23 AM)ImMoreAwesomeThanYou Wrote: [ -> ]I used to do a lot of this at my last job. Part of my ROI was replacing personnel with machines and equipment. People paid big bucks to find a way to eliminate payroll expenses.

BY READING THIS POST YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IMATY IS THE LAST GREAT CRUSADER FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE SO HELP YOU GOD.

Figures.

Btw, have any of these people thought about who is going to buy the products they make if there are no jobs?

(12-14-2012 10:44 AM)RobertN Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-14-2012 10:23 AM)ImMoreAwesomeThanYou Wrote: [ -> ]I used to do a lot of this at my last job. Part of my ROI was replacing personnel with machines and equipment. People paid big bucks to find a way to eliminate payroll expenses.

BY READING THIS POST YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IMATY IS THE LAST GREAT CRUSADER FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE SO HELP YOU GOD.

Figures.

Btw, have any of these people thought about who is going to buy the products they make if there are no jobs?

Consider what the corporations are doing as economic patriotism. If they earn more money they can pay more taxes. Oh, and someone has to build the equipment and write the software. You're welcome America. Anyway, technology isn't the enemy, a lack of skilled labor, along with the need for it is. If this was your business you would do the same thing or you would be out of business. You can also thank the regulatory burden placed on business by every administration over the last 80 years and the ever increasing tax burden. Companies didn't call me until they had to. These aren't greedy people. They eliminate a few jobs(up to a few hundredish) to save thousands. Of all the C level exec's I've dealt with none of them were the evil greedy capitalist pigs you and others like you have made them out to be. I'm sure some are but I've never encountered them. Most just want to stay in business and to do that you HAVE TO EARN A PROFIT.