Guardian Warns Automation May Lead To Class Warfare And Genocide

SHTFPlan.com
 
Recently the establishment mouthpiece known as The Guardian, posted an article that tells you a lot about what the elites want. Specifically, how the elites want to control us with automation. The article discusses Bill Gates’ recent idea to tax robots as a way to mitigate the possibility that automation will cause more income inequality.

What’s particularly interesting about this article, is the nightmarish future that it predicts. If automation eventually eliminates all of our jobs; and with it, the political power and wealth of the common man, how will the elites respond? By separating themselves from the rest of society in private fortified communities, and then exterminating us when we grow resentful.

If that scenario isn’t bleak enough, consider the possibility that mass automation could lead not only to the impoverishment of working people, but to their annihilation. In his book Four Futures, Peter Frase speculates that the economically redundant hordes outside the gates would only be tolerated for so long. After all, they might get restless – and that’s a lot of possible pitchforks.

“What happens if the masses are dangerous but are no longer a working class, and hence of no value to the rulers?” Frase writes. “Someone will eventually get the idea that it would be better to get rid of them.” He gives this future an appropriately frightening name: “exterminism”, a world defined by the “genocidal war of the rich against the poor”.

To be fair, I don’t doubt that this is something that the elites want (and by elite, I don’t mean the 1%. More like the .00001 percent), or at least see as unfortunate and inevitable. The real propaganda in this article is the solution that is offered to this problem.

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The Rise of the Machines: Millions Of American Jobs Will Be Wiped Out In The Next Five Years

Marc Slavo
shtfplan.com

There is a paradigm shift coming and it is about to rewrite everything we know about economics, human labor, and government dependence.

Earlier this week Amazon launched its first Amazon Go store, which allows a customer to walk in, grab the items they want, and simply walk out. Everything is tracked utilizing RFID chips, so the second you step out of the store Amazon knows exactly what you’ve purchased and automatically charges your account:

Amazon Go is a system that marries physical stores with advanced algorithms and sensors to eliminate the need for a typical store checkout. Instead of packing all the things you need into a basket or cart and then dragged it through a tedious checkout process, you just grab whatever you need and walk out of the store.

It sounds like a shaky concept at first, but only until you see just how advanced the technology really is. When you first walk into the store, you use your smartphone to open you virtual shopping cart. As you make your way around the store, a vast system of sensor tracks where you are, what you pick up, and what you take with you. The system even knows if you pick something up and then put it back, and will only charge you for things you actually intended to buy.

Amazon’s latest move is simply the next evolution designed to make human labor obsolete.

As Mike Shedlock recently pointed out at Mish Talk, the transition to automated systems like Amazon Go, as well as technologies like self-driving cars and long-haul trucks, has been fast tracked.
We’re no longer talking decades, but rather, a few years before we start to see the direct effects on the labor market:

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Comment: For more in this subject and the wider implications of technology in psychopaths' hands read my series:

Technocracy I 

Technocracy II: Big Brother in your Bag and the Auto-Matrix 

Technocracy III: Tagged (and Bagged?)
 

Technocracy IV: The Technocrats Tap in (1)

Technocracy V: The Technocrats Tap in   (2)

Technocracy VI: The Technocrats Tap in (3)

See more HERE.

CBO: Nearly 1 in 6 Young Men in U.S. Jobless or Incarcerated

Breitbart

Nearly one in six young men (between the ages of 18-34) in the U.S. were either jobless or incarcerated in 2014, according to a new government report. It details a striking amount of male alienation that has been on the rise since the 1980s.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), out of the 38 million young men in the U.S. in 2014, 16 percent were jobless (5 million or 13 percent) or incarcerated (1 million or 3 percent). The share of young men without a job or in prison has increased substantially since 1980, when just 11 percent of young men fit into either category.

CBO highlights that the level of joblessness and incarceration varies based on young men’s educational attainment. The less they have, the more likely they are to be jobless or incarcerated. The rates also varied among racial and ethnic groups. In 2014 young black men were about twice as likely to be jobless or incarcerated than white or Hispanic young men were. The disparity was largely due, however, to higher rates of incarceration among young black men.

Economic, policy, and skill-set changes contributed to the the large increase in joblessness and incarceration from 1980 to 2014, CBO said.

On the economic side in particular, CBO pointed to the recent recession, technological advances, more women entering the workforce and such debate-inspiring issues as outsourcing and low-skilled immigration.

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Recession 'led to 10,000 suicides'

BBC News

The economic crisis in Europe and North America led to more than 10,000 extra suicides, according to figures from UK researchers. 

A study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, showed "suicides have risen markedly".

The research group said some deaths may have been avoidable as some countries showed no increase in suicide rate. 

Campaign groups said the findings showed how important good mental health services were.

The study by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine analysed data from 24 EU countries, the US and Canada.

Unemployment, repossessions and debt 
 
It said suicides had been declining in Europe until 2007. By 2009 there was a 6.5% increase, a level that was sustained until 2011.

It was the equivalent of 7,950 more suicides than would have been expected if previous trends continued, the research group said. 

Deaths by suicide were also falling in Canada, but there was a marked increase when the recession took hold in 2008, leading to 240 more suicides.

The number of people taking their own life was already increasing in the US, but the rate "accelerated" with the economic crisis, leading to 4,750 additional deaths. 

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Almost One Quarter Of European Youths Are Unemployed

Zero Hedge

Europe’s scariest chart continues to stun and amaze by its scale even as Europe’s broad unemployment rate has been stagnant at around 12% for 5 months. While Greece and Spain have seen youth unemployment rates drop slightly from record highs (and its clear the disillusionment has meant people leaving the potential workforce) they remain well above 50%. Italy hovers near its all-time record high around 43% (with overall Italian and French joblessness at record highs) and broad European youth unemployment is stuck at over 23% (as Germany’s drops to new record lows). As we noted yesterday, if this is the age of civil unrest then the blue-touch-paper to light is writ large in this chart…

Broad European unemployment has been stuck around 12% for 5 months… with Greece and Spain at the top

 

But it is the youth unemployment rates (15-24) that is truly depressing…

Source: Eurostat

McDonald’s employee out of a job after buying food for firefighters

Comment: Not content with being the epitome of the worst type of capitalism (factory-farming, processed food and presiding over numerous environmental hazards) we have a further reminder of how caring McDonalds are to their staff...

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RT

A McDonald's employee who spend the past eight years working at the fast food chain was fired after she bought food for firefighters and then clashed with her boss over the issue.

Heather Levia, a 23-year-old single mom with twins, told WIVB-TV in western New York that she was working her standard morning shift at McDonald’s when a group of firefighters came in. The Allegany Fire Department had been in the news recently for putting out a house fire in sub-zero temperatures, and Levia said she wanted to show her gratitude by paying for the group's 25 breakfast sandwiches out of her own pocket. 

“Just because I appreciate everything they do,” she said. 

Another group of firefighters came in later that day, ordering $70 worth of food. Levia said she texted her boss to see if the store could provide it for free. When she was denied, the young mom then called McDonald’s corporate office only to be given the same response. 

Evidently unsatisfied with that answer, Levia raised enough money among her co-workers to pay for the food themselves. The firefighters then called Levia’s boss to say that they never expect free food, but it was wrong of McDonald’s to make Levia feel as if she needed to pay for the food herself. 

Whether the company told the firefighters that Levia had volunteered to pay for the food herself is unknown. 

Regardless, she found herself out of a job the next day after being told she was fired for cursing at a superior. 

“You opened a whole bee’s nest,” Levia said her boss told her before denying that she broke any rules. “I did say this is ‘freaking’ ridiculous but it was not implied to anybody.” 

Allegany Fire Media Officer Gordon Scott told WIVB that the firefighters were surprised by the gesture.
“It was a shock. We certainly regret the fact she lost her job,” he said. “We can’t speak on corporate policy because we don’t know the background of it. It was a sad affair because a gentleman lost a home.

And it’s even worse because we now know that this girl apparently lost her job because of it." 

Tom Meyers, owner of the Olean, New York McDonald’s, refused to give specific details on the incident but denied that management was behind any wrongdoing. 

“The Meyers Organization has always valued the employees who serve our customers every day. We likewise continue to be an ardent supporter of our police and fire departments, along with other first responders. They are always welcome in our restaurants, and we will continue to support them in the future,” he said. 

“We are aware that certain allegations have been made concerning the reasons for Heather Levia’s termination. Out of respect for Ms. Levia and her privacy, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on the reasons she is no longer employed by our organization. Still, it should be pointed out that the allegations are absolutely not true. We would never penalize an employee for showing appropriate gratitude for the work of our firefighters.” 

Levia, for her part, told the news station that the attention surrounding her story has already led to a number of job offers. 

“It’s just wrong,” she said of her dismissal. “I wish the communities would change and help each other out. I wish that things didn’t have to be the way they are. And if losing my job is going to speak out to the community, then that’s what it’s going to do.” 

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See also: The Globalization of “Fast Food”. Behind the Brand: McDonald’s By Peter Salisbury

Mr. President, My America Is Now Life in an RV Park With No Running Water and Not Much Heat

Alternet


Dear Mr. President,

I write to you today because I have nowhere else to turn. I lost my full time job in September 2012. I have only been able to find part-time employment -- 16 hours each week at $12 per hour -- but I don't work that every week. For the month of December, my net pay was $365. My husband and I now live in an RV at a campground because of my job loss. Our monthly rent is $455 and that doesn't include utilities. We were given this 27-ft. 1983 RV when I lost my job.

This is America today. We have no running water; we use a hose to fill jugs. We have no shower but the campground does. We have a toilet but it only works when the sewer line doesn't freeze -- if it freezes, we use the campground's restrooms. At night, in my bed, when it's cold out, my blanket can freeze to the wall of the RV. We don't have a stove or an oven, just a microwave, so regular-food cooking is out. Recently we found a small toaster oven on sale so we can bake a little now because eating only microwaved food just wasn't working for us. We don't have a refrigerator, just an icebox (a block of ice cost about $1.89). It keeps things relatively cold. If it's freezing outside, we just put things on the picnic table.

Unfortunately, we can't buy things in bulk because they will go bad before we can use them. We can't buy dry goods in bulk either, because there is no room to store them anywhere in the RV.

We are very lucky that the campground has showers, but it costs 25 cents for two minutes. There have been times when we couldn't afford a shower and had to resort to bathing in the campground restroom sink. There was a shower in the RV but the plumbing has deteriorated so now we use it a a closet.

The walls of the RV are not well insulated, so many times the inside gets wet from condensation. That means all of the blankets that we have stored above the bed may end up moldy if we don't remove them an dry them periodically. There is mold under the carpet on the floor and there is mold along the walls behind our seats. But we keep it clean the best we can. The heating system in the RV no longer functions, so we have a small radiator-type floor heater and we move it around to dry the floor to keep it from molding.

My husband is bipolar and was considered disabled and was receiving SSI. Prior to my job loss, he was seen for 12 minutes by a disability physician, never asked about his bi-polar condition and was kicked off disability. He had received $1,000 per month, but it is gone.

After I lost my job at a college, we moved from Kern County in California, where the unemployment rate is over 10 percent, to the Pacific Northwest where the unemployment rate is lower to be near my son and grandson but without gas money, we still can't visit them.

So now we sit. I apply for so many jobs daily. I have a Master's degree and have been in the workforce for over 30 years. Why can't I find a job? I have marketable skills. My credit is gone (credit score of 570) and so I am no longer being considered for jobs in the "real" world. I am only ever considered for government jobs and even then, they usually know who they plan to hire but they have to go through the process. So here we sit.

I had been receiving unemployment benefits from California but now that the unemployment rate for the state is lower, there are no more funds coming in.

My husband can't find a job. No one wants to hire me. Luckily, the State of Washington has decided to provide us with $300 in food stamps each month but it still isn't enough to survive on. All of our savings is gone. I no longer have any retirement savings. Nothing. By the end of this month, we will be without anywhere to turn.

Your devoted constituent,

Paula Bray

40 percent of jobless youth facing mental illness symptoms with one-in-three contemplating suicide

 

Agence France-Presse
via The Raw Story

Some jobless youngsters are facing “devastating” symptoms of mental illness, with one in three having comtemplated suicide, a leading youth charity said on Thursday.

The Prince’s Trust said 40 percent of jobless young people have experienced symptoms of mental illness such as suicidal thoughts, feelings of self-loathing and panic attacks.

The study is based on interviews with over 2,100 people aged between 16 and 25.

Young people who have been unemployed in the long-term are also more than twice as likely as their peers to believe they have nothing to live for, the study said.

The charity called for urgent support from the government, health agencies and employers.
Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Prince’s Trust, said: “Unemployment is proven to cause devastating, long-lasting mental health problems among young people. Thousands wake up every day believing that life isn’t worth living, after struggling for years in the dole queue.”

The charity said three quarters of long-term unemployed young people did not have someone to confide in.

Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, commented: “This research proves that unemployment is a public health issue.

“It is one that must be tackled urgently and it is essential that youth unemployment is added to the public health agenda.

The Trust said it would support 58,000 disadvantaged young people this year. Three in four young people supported by the charity move into work, education or training, it said.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “We understand the effects that unemployment can have and that is why we are doing everything possible to help young people into work.”

Charts: The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression

Mother Jones
Dave Gilson, Tasneem Raja, and AJ Vicens

Officially, the Great Recession of 2007 ended in June 2009. Yet the economic downturn remains in full effect for millions of Americans, particularly the nearly 40 percent of the unemployed who have been looking for work for six months or more.

In less than a week, emergency federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million of these jobless Americans are set to run out. Proponents of ending the benefits argue that the economy is expanding and that the benefits prevent people from finding work. "You get out of a recession by encouraging employment not encouraging unemployment," according to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes extending benefits. However, the data shows that while corporate America has bounced back, it is not restoring all the jobs it shed when the economy tanked five years ago.

Currently, nearly 11 million Americans are unemployed. The unemployment rate stands at 7 percent. Both of those stats are improvements from a little more than four years ago, when the post-recession jobless rate peaked at 10 percent and more than 15 million people were out of work.

 

 

However, there currently are more than 4 million Americans who have been unemployed for six months or longer. Not since the Great Depression has the United States experienced such massive and persistent long-term unemployment.  

Overall, the long-term unemployed (those with out a job for six months or longer) make up nearly 40 percent of all the jobless.

Long-term unemployment has not affected all Americans evenly. African-Americans and the poor make up 23 percent and 34 percent of the ranks of the long-term unemployed, respectively.

For many people, going without work for more than six months can kick off a vicious cycle or financial and personal crises that may take years to break out of.

While the unemployment rate is steadily falling, hiring has not recovered as quickly as it did during the three most recent previous recessions.

Currently, there are about three people looking for work for every job opening. Compare this to 2007, when "job seekers ratio" was nearly half that. The ratio varies widely across industries, but even in the most applicant-friendly industry, insurance and finance, has 30 percent more seekers than positions.

Meanwhile, corporate America has regained the financial ground it lost during the Great Recession. Real corporate profits after taxes have grown 30 percent since 2007, while the number of jobs is still below its pre-recession level.

And the price of continuing long-term unemployment isn't just borne by the jobless and their families. It's dragging down the entire economy—to the tune of $1 trillion a year.

Italy’s president fears violent insurrection in 2014

 The Telegraph

Events in Italy are turning serious. President Giorgio Napolitano has warned of “widespread social tension and unrest” in 2014 as the Long Slump drags on.

Those living on the margins are being drawn into “indiscriminate and violent protest, a sterile lurch towards total opposition”.

His latest speech is a veritable Jeremiad. Thousands of companies are on the “brink of collapse”. Great masses of the working people are on the dole or at risk of losing their jobs. Very high rates of youth unemployment (41pc) are leading to dangerous alienation.

“The recession is still biting hard, and there is a pervasive sense that it will be difficult to escape, to find a way back to full growth,” he said.

Now why might that be? Might it not have something to do with the central overriding fact that Italy has a currency overvalued by 20pc or more within EMU: that it is trapped in a 1930s fixed-exchange system run a 1930s central bank that is standing idly by...

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