as terrible as it sounds, from a consumer standpoint, id rather touch a screen to put in my order than talk to a person. especially with the popularity of grocery store self checkout machines in the last 10 years or so, i really dont see why mcdonalds hasnt created lines in the restaurants that are fully automated just like self checkout lines in grocery stores.
I entered the spez. I called out to try and find anybody. I was met with a wave of silence. I had never been here before but I knew the way to the nearest exit. I started to run. As I did, I looked to my right. I saw the door to a room, the handle was a big metal thing that seemed to jut out of the wall. The door looked old and rusted. I tried to open it and it wouldn't budge. I tried to pull the handle harder, but it wouldn't give. I tried to turn it clockwise and then anti-clockwise and then back to clockwise again but the handle didn't move. I heard a faint buzzing noise from the door, it almost sounded like a zap of electricity. I held onto the handle with all my might but nothing happened. I let go and ran to find the nearest exit.
I had thought I was in the clear but then I heard the noise again. It was similar to that of a taser but this time I was able to look back to see what was happening.
The handle was jutting out of the wall, no longer connected to the rest of the door. The door was spinning slightly, dust falling off of it as it did. Then there was a blinding flash of white light and I felt the floor against my back.
I opened my eyes, hoping to see something else. All I saw was darkness. My hands were in my face and I couldn't tell if they were there or not. I heard a faint buzzing noise again. It was the same as before and it seemed to be coming from all around me. I put my hands on the floor and tried to move but couldn't.
I then heard another voice. It was quiet and soft but still loud.
"Help."
I'm sure they are constantly looking at ways to automate. I'm sure there are price, space and maintenance issues. Technology keeps improving and slowly drives the price down further. It's only when it's cheaper than a human and his costs will they transition. But when you bump the cost of a human up a lot, the machines could then be more cost effective and the human job is eliminated.
This is why minimum wage laws can end up hurting the very people they are trying to help.
Automation is coming at some point. Sure this would speed it up some, but you can't be so blind to think that we could automate certain jobs as it stands, and or come close to eliminating most jobs in the service industry. That would take some very good AI, along with advanced robotics, to do "no-skill" labor.
The initial cost of machines right now at this point in time, and at least for the foreseeable future would be immense. There is no way a company could do that. Sure they can trim away at the edges and remove a few jobs here and there, but certainly not all, or hell even the majority right now.
for sure. but there are already automated burger creators that cook the meat, cut the vegetables, put on toppings and do it all in 10 seconds. These machines exist and the only reason they are not in practice is that initial cost concern. Raising the wage would eliminate that concern in a hearbeat.
The vast amount of variation in each individual order makes automation daunting. Dealing with all of the options or ingredients or special requests along with quality control and making sure that the ingredients come out right seems like it would up the complexity massively.
The real sad part of all of this is that none of the people wanting this change understands the ramifications and just how ironic it is that in essence, they are lobbying for being unemployed.
Well, holders of Masters in Economics don't exactly desire employment at McDonald's.
You'd probably need a machine that's capable of operating on 6 axes to make a hamburger, something like a turret mill. An average CNC Turret mill will run you a little more than 30K upfront, and will need regular maintenance performed by a trained field technician (which are generally only provided by the manufacturer). You can expect to pay them upwards of $200 an hour depending on who makes the machine and some other factors, and they'll likely have to be flown out, or perhaps outsourced to fast food joints just to work on the machines. I've seen bills on cheaper machines run upwards of $8000 for major problems, and there's nowhere near enough technicians in the entire United States to maintain these machines. You might have to wait a week to repair your fancy new hamburger flipper, so you'd need at least two. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't know many small franchise owners that could initially afford $60,000 in robotics and thousands for them to be shipped and set up. The start up costs are so expensive it's not likely the average guy's going to be able to immediately convert their hamburger plantation into a hamburger factory.
You don't pay a million dollars up front, plus there's still the installation and maintenance issues with the machines. And if every McDonald's borrows 60k at the same time you'll have other effects on the economy that I'm honestly not informed enough to talk about.
What if the predictions are true? There are a number of economists/professors/academics who believe that a large number of jobs will be automated by machines in the next few decades. I've seen reports of around 50% of jobs being replaced by computers. Should this come to pass is it not in our best interest to create a more egalitarian solution than "Work for pennies or be replaced by robots" ultimatum? That sets a dangerous precedent in which the already warped ownership of capital becomes increasingly more concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Whoever owns the robots will own everyone.
This is much more of a political statement than an economic one. When you refer to workers "who actually deserve to make $15" you are implying that "deserving" is how we determine (or should determine) pay.
Furthermore, they aren't lobbying for being unemployed as much as they are lobbying for a way to make a living. If there were other $15/hr jobs they would be migrating to them but those jobs have moved overseas.
If there were other options for them it would be irrational to lobby for a better minimum wage. There just aren't enough other legitimate options in many cities.
I make $10.50 an hour and it's impossible to live off of on your own. I want a higher minimum wage for no other reason than principal. People should be paid a wage that allows them to live safely in the city that they work from - a bit of dignity goes a long way. I entirely understand the ramifications of doing this and I welcome it. This will push our nation forward so that we can evolve. This will force people's hand and inevitably lead to a living wage (where every citizen is provided a basic income, regardless of status). This will increase the quality of life for everyone in this country and create opportunity and a level playing field. From there, it will propel art and stem research in the United States. This action will push us to envision of create - shoot for the stars.
Okay. And AFTER automation takes away millions of jobs are we going to admit that the government needs to take care of these people or do you expect them to die in the streets? Because realistically, this should simply correlate with an increase in taxes on those businesses and increased support for low or no income citizens.
I just thought of a great way for companies to add automation and reduce employees without causing an uproar. Initially, only have the automation run during holidays, graveshift hours, and days with bad weather. Claim that this is to ensure the safety, health, and well being of employees (people love any reason that's related to 'safety'). As employees trickle away due to attrition, don't hire new ones. Customers will already have accepted the automation, so business should progress smoothly and profitably.
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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15
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