Divisive and nefarious political tricknologists often try to scare working Americans by claiming that immigrants are coming to steal their jobs. In fact, working Americans should fear robots—the heartless metallic bringers of unemployment. How bad can it get?
In a new study for the National Bureau of Economic Research, George Borjas and Richard Freeman attempt to quantify the threat that robots pose to American jobs—and to compare that to the threat that immigrants pose. The researchers acknowledge that “Historically, new technologies have invariably obsolesced some jobs but they have also opened the door for new jobs, usually at higher pay and with better conditions,” but they say that while industrial robots may not yet have had a devastating effect on employment, it certainly could happen if current trends continue.
Let’s skip ahead right to that data baby—bolding ours!
The entry of an additional robot reduces employment and wages by more than the entry of an additional immigrant, suggesting that one industrial robot is comparable to 2 to 3 human workers and upwards of 3 to 4 in particular groups.
While the number of robots per worker is too modest to be a major determinant of wages and employment patterns in the period covered by our study, our estimates suggest that continued exponential growth of robots could disrupt job markets in the next decade or so and thus merits monitoring and analysis by labor analysts.
GOOD ADVICE THAT NONE OF YOU WILL TAKE: Please read the entire paper before taking to our comment section with stupid things to say!
However, if you are both lazy and politically conscious, like most of us, you now have our permission to say, the next time one of your relatives begins to blame immigrants for America’s economic problems: “Dad, people from HARVARD did a whole STUDY on this and they found that the danger to American jobs from ROBOTS far outweighs the danger from immigrants. Also, the Republican Party is a scam designed to make you fear and hate vulnerable segments of society as a distraction in order to cut taxes on the rich.”
Every day on SplinterNews.com is about learning facts.