Proposed Regulations
Proposed March 7, 2017
Summary
President Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross has recently promoted the idea of expanding our use of robots in the workforce. Ross believes that without technological advancements other countries will surpass our economic dominance. He stated, “We need technological advance. And if we don’t employ robots, the Chinese will, the Vietnamese will, the Europeans will, the Japanese will. Everyone will.” Ross continued to explain that we need to keep in pace with the factories that are being made in the United States to reach our max potential as an economic powerhouse. LEARN MORE
Analysis
Real American workers will lose their jobs as a result of automation. To resolve this, many economists believe that the government should tax the generated income of robots like human income tax. This solution fails as it not only doesn’t account for the spending workers do (buying goods and services) but also is not under consideration by the administration. Ross exclaimed that “I’m not in favor of trying to hold back technological advance” claiming taxation like this is a drawback from capitalism. As a result, this idea will slow the economy due to a loss of consumers and laid-off workers. LEARN MORE
Engagement Resources
- UNI Global Union – This is a global union federation for skills and services, gathering national and regional trade unions. This union was able to convince SecureCorp to abandon its anti-union strategy in 2008.
- AFL-CIO – The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations is a national trade union center and the largest federation of unions in the United States.
- United Automobile Workers – The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Automobile Workers, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States and Canada.
This brief was compiled by Vaibhav Kumar. If you have comments or want to add the name of your organization to this brief please contact vaibhav@usresistnews.org.
