Author: automata

The rise of the robots? Release your inner Luddite

The rise of the robots? Release your inner Luddite

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Luddites and I think history has been very unfair in painting them as self-serving, selfish men determined to stop the march of progress and prosperity.

The reality is that they were highly skilled people faced with ruin who understood that it would be the chief executive class who would gain most from a move to lower-quality products produced using low-skill labour and new machinery. I particularly like the fact that, just like Robin Hood, the leader, Ned Ludd, may never have existed and was said to have lived in Sherwood Forest.

Of course, […]

‘Nomadland’ Is A Vivid Picture Of American Decline And Its Lingering Antidote

‘Nomadland’ Is A Vivid Picture Of American Decline And Its Lingering Antidote

‘Nomadland’ is not an exceptional case study. It’s proof that erecting artistic barriers against cross-cultural exploration will cost us beautiful work.

“Nomadland” is a patient and gracious glimpse at the resilient casualties of American decline. It’s empathetic, not patronizing, a real story of white-working class woes free of condescending or cartoonish cliches. It also graces the screen courtesy of a Chinese writer and director.

The film is a subtle cocktail of cultural conflict. Chloé Zhao’s directing is gorgeous and visionary. Her writing is sharp.Born to prominent parents in China, Zhao attended boarding school in London, then high school in California, and […]

The American Rescue Plan’s Tacit Admission About America

The American Rescue Plan’s Tacit Admission About America

A woman with a child carries a box of food assistance she received from a food bank in Florida at the start of the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan to be signed into law by President Biden this week is projected to reduce the poverty rate by one-third, the Urban Institute estimates. The think tank originally estimated that around 13.7 percent of U.S. households would be in poverty for the year 2021; the new stimulus package would take that rate down to 8.7 percent. It would reduce child poverty by half.

People of color will benefit the most, they added, […]

A Californian experiment in the provision of guaranteed income returns its first results

A Californian experiment in the provision of guaranteed income returns its first results

FOR THE PAST two years, as part of an experiment, 125 residents of Stockton, a small city in California’s Central Valley, have found themselves $500-a-month richer. The money arrived on or around the 15th of every month, timed to coincide with a period that tends to be sparse for people on typical low-income pay cycles. The recipients were selected at random from a longlist of people who signed up for the experiment online. The only criteria was that they should be adults living in neighbourhoods in which the median income was lower than the median in Stockton overall. Since […]

Former Stockton Mayor Tubbs joins Newsom as economic adviser

Former Stockton Mayor Tubbs joins Newsom as economic adviser

Former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs said he was wooed for a Biden administration job — and that he accepted it — before deciding instead to stay in California. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo Former Stockton Mayor Tubbs joins Newsom as economic adviser

By CARLA MARINUCCI

03/11/2021 08:00 AM ESTOAKLAND — Gov. Gavin Newsom has tapped former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, nationally known for his work on universal basic income, to become an adviser on income inequality, child poverty and California’s economic recovery from Covid-19.Tubbs, 30, is best known for his work on a Stockton pilot project that provided $500 […]

Asia-Pacific Automated Material Handling Market | Latest Innovation, Advance Technology, Top Companies , Revenue Growth and Forecast to 2025

The Asia-Pacific automated material handling market was valued at USD 16562.38 million in 2019 and is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 10.8% over the forecast period (2020 – 2025).

– The automated material handling market in Asia-Pacific region is becoming increasingly integrated, with China as the core bolstering it with its strong economic growth. Sectors, such as manufacturing, have driven much of this economic activity and have increasingly made supply chains complex.
– With technological advancements in sensors, machine intelligence, and robotics, the in-house material handling has undergone drastic changes. This equipment is expected to improve safety at the […]

Unconditional basic income

Ahmet Öğüt Unconditional Basic Income Lounge, 2017. zur Reservation. Im Juni 2016 stimmte die Schweiz als erstes Land der Welt darüber ab, ein Recht auf Is one of a number of Dutch municipalities that conduct an experiment with the social assistance system, loosely inspired by the Universal Basic Income (UBI). Unconditional Basic Income: Who gets it? Who pays for it? A social Accounting Approach to Distribution. Reich, Utz Peter and Santos, Universal Basic Income (UBI) is one of them. UBI has gained in popularity in recent years, leading to small-scale experiments being carried out all The Functional Principle and […]

Things we should’ve learned from the pandemic but didn’t

Things we should’ve learned from the pandemic but didn’t

The pandemic, which cleared out major thoroughfares in San Francisco, has ushered in the opportunity for people and the government to consider major changes in economic and public policy. (Chris Victorio/S.F. Examiner file photo) Almost a year ago I wrote an article titled “How Coronavirus Might Save Us All.” It was the very start of quarantine and the piece argued that maybe, just maybe, this tragedy could be the catalyst we needed to fix the many broken systems that kept people underpaid, without health care and financially unstable. The article ended with this hesitantly optimistic thought: “When we come […]

Choosing to challenge gender inequality in the post-COVID future of work

Choosing to challenge gender inequality in the post-COVID future of work

Challenges to the future of work for women COVID-19 has touched almost every facet of life across the globe, radically affecting health, livelihoods, social interaction, and more. Beyond its more tangible impacts, COVID-19 has also upended the progress made in gender equality, with women in many countries disproportionately affected at work and home.

In Thailand, women account for a significant part of the workforce in industries that have been hard hit by the pandemic – about 65 percent in hospitality and services, and about 49 percent in manufacturing. With the pandemic-induced increase in responsibilities for care and housework, many women […]

Rogers expands eligibility for low-cost internet program

Rogers expands eligibility for low-cost internet program

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Rogers today expanded the eligibility of its affordable internet access program to include Canadians enrolled in Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

The announcement builds upon Rogers’ Connected for Success program. Through Connected for Success, Rogers brings low-cost internet access to eligible residents in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland with various partners. The program promises affordable and reliable internet for subsidized tenants, seniors, struggling families and those with disabilities.Rogers says that Connected for Success has connected more than 30,000 households.The program currently offers three service tiers: 25mbps download for $9.99 per […]