The End of Jobs: What Happens Next?

Here's how the job diminution might play out.

1. Ever fewer jobs require people, least of all, expensive-to-hire Americans. The jobs that remain in the U.S. will increasingly be low-pay crap jobs or high-pay intellectually difficult jobs.

Technologies like autonomous driving will put millions of truck, train, bus, and taxi drivers out of a job. Fast-food workers who wrested higher salaries will find their victories to be Pyrrhic as companies find it cheaper and more reliable to use robotic servers and preparers as is already occurring in some fast-food restaurants in Japan and Europe.

Even high-level jobs like doctor, lawyer, and accountant will be done largely by computerized expert systems.

U.S. wages will decline toward the world average of $10,000 a year.

2. The growing number of poor people will result in our electing politicians who will "soak the rich" more and use the money to transfer dollars to the poor and to pay for single-payer health care. That will forestall major increases in crime and rioting.

Despite the redistribution, people will learn to live on much less--like 100 square feet per person. Many people will be forced to give up their car in favor of mass transit. Recreation will descend from $100 football tickets and 8-day/7-night fly-away vacations to at-home TV watching and staycations.  Wal-Mart and thrift stores will be go-to stores for all but the 1%ers.

Even though the last thing the U.S. needs is a workforce with less motivation and impaired memory, pot will be legalized nationwide. After all, the dispirited populus needs something to dull their pain.

3. Further taxing the rich and businesses can go only so far before too many businesses go out of business or move their business to a low-tax country. That would be the tipping point--- a big increase in crime, rioting, and substance abuse.

4. In desperation, the heretofore anti-business public schools and colleges will feel forced to train more entrepreneurs so more sustainable jobs can be created. That plus unanticipatible job-creating technologies will provide the beginning of a rebound, who knows how big?

Perhaps this scenario is unduly negative. After all, for millennia, humankind has prevailed and the long-term trend has been worldwide improvement in quality of life. Let's hope it continues.

Dear reader: your thoughts?