Fmr. McDonald's USA CEO: $35K Robots Cheaper Than Hiring at $15 Per Hour.

[derpkitteh]

and who in the hell will pay that basic income?

the government. you can't have the majority of your population die of starvation because the only work they'd ever get hired for is all automated.

that's how you get civil wars and revolutions.

[zenkai]

Sure, automation is always inevitable, but that has nothing to do with the push to increase wages.

This is just another one of those scare tactics that we see so often. When the "little people" start making a fuss, the people at the top start leveling threats. You see it all the time - especially politically. Usually they don't issue the threats themselves, they just kindly inform you that if you keep pushing for fair wages, better working conditions, taxes on wealth and so on that your jobs will just disappear.

I agree/disagree I think the wage hike is putting a rush on it

- - - Updated - - -

If people are making $7.25 per hour, they should probably be buying their food at the grocery store instead of at a fast food joint. You can buy a loaf of bread, lunch meat and cheese for the same price as one McDonald's meal.

I usually average $30 to $35 per hour at my job and I see the cost benefits of just brown bagging my own lunch.

Most of the Engineers I work with brown bag it as well, eating out is pricey and there is better things you can do with your money, not to mention it's healthier.

[Hablion]

I understand how this can affect people, losing their jobs and all, but I'd much rather have robots working in Fast Food establishments. The employees mess orders ups, don't follow proper hygiene rules and mess with people's food. I know they'll probably still have actual human employees there to make sure everything goes smoothly, but I welcome the day when robots just completely run it.

Winter would you like to pay their unemplyment government aid?

[I Push Buttons]

In a low cost of living area, you're looking at (rounded numbers mind you) for one person, about $600 rent, $200 of food, $200 car payments.. that's already $1000 a month. This isn't counting gas money, healthcare, buying anything extra, so on so fourth.

Haven't you ever listened to the typical right wingers like Orlong? The solution to all those problems is for poor people to live in $100/month roach motels with several other poor people, eat nothing but ramen, sit in the dark with nothing to do during all of their free time because power/television/internet are luxuries, and then go to work and repeat.

Or die, they are ok with all poor people just dying off as well.

[Zoldor]

http://www.theguardian.com/news/data...where-are-they
usa has 14157 mcdonalds stores as of 2012 anyway(they got way less now to try and compensate for running costs)
multiply that by $15 for just 1 employee per store..
$212355 that is just for 1 hour 1 person working at each of the 14157 stores in usa
but multiply that by 10 hours per week as rough estimate of that 1 person
which is $2123550
now multiply that^ by roughly 10 employees PER STORE
obviously $21235500
that is just for 1 week..
so multiply those 10 people per store working 10 hours per week at $15 per hour
which is 1 billion 104 million 246 thousand
and that is not even including the transport of food, cost of farming/labour and feeding the food or importing the food, it does not include the maintenance of the stores(repair men) it does not include the cost of office employees
it also does not include mcdonalds 119 countries they sell in

these people protesting for more money from mcdonalds in usa are not thinking logically
the most logical thing for them to do is to move to one of the 119 countries to get a better wage at the same company

now imagine if mcdonalds only has 900million per year to spare to pay for those 10 employees per store in all states of usa
what the protestors are essentially expecting is the entire company to go into debt just to pay them extra money for them not having a better job and not going to a better country

mcdonalds is thinking of their long time security
being able to pay for the other employees in those 119 countries
mcdonalds previously would of rathered to pay those people in usa less than to fire them
but since the employees are forcing mcdonalds to do the impossible mcdonalds is trying to find a solution via replacing people with robots rather than closing stores down which would create angry customers to sue them because they're hungry

You are ignoring the franchising agreements, the money they make for renting the land, equipment etc. McDonalds is a franchise that can be bought into the people who own those franchises do the actual running of the stores which includes paying the employee and being responsible for payroll. Less than 10% of McDonald's are owned by the corporation.

So lets not throw all these numbers around and act like McDonald's corp is holding up those wages or is going to be paying for those Robot employees either. It will be the Franchisee who is responsible for purchasing all equipment (robots), paying rent to the company for the land and building, paying the monthly/annual franchise fee and doing whatever the corporation tells them must be done.

I'm really tired of people pretending like these giant corporations actually are the ones loosing, having to do something or being the ones to make all the choices. They franchise their business model out for a hefty initial investment followed by annual payments. Think for McDonalds rent and all it is something like 12% of sales. Maybe once that movie with Michael Keaton and Ron Swanson comes out people will pick up on the scam that is fast food. So all your numbers are rather meaningless as it isn't going to cost McDonalds shit to raise the wages except in the 10% of stores they actually own and operate. If anything they stand to make more money off automation as they will lease/sell the machines to franchisees, have a special McDonald's corporate technician you pay to service said machines etc. Your franchisee will have to increase prices, but it isn't some grandiose scale like you just proposed.

- - - Updated - - -

This article is a bit older (May 3rd), but also backs the idea:

Why robots are coming for US service jobs

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cb4c93c4-0...#axzz49gw9qeuD





This is not to scare people, this is coming regardless of the $15 minimum wage hike, it may just come quicker, or further down the line depending on stuff like minimum wage, and cost of living going up/down.

This does though, bring us closer to a serious discussion about basic income, and overhauling our notion of welfare. Including superseding the bureaucratic nightmares of the current welfare programs, with one flat "income" that is chained to the cost of living index, at least till automation takes a bigger part of contributing to the economy.

With things like OLO, a 3D printer for your phone:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...one-3d-printer

And soon 3d printers creating food, and organs, etc... basic income will become, in my opinion, inevitable in the better developed nations. Not because people are lazy, but because there won't be enough low skilled jobs available for everyone. And putting people in prison due to petty theft, or dealing with black market items like drugs due to poverty is not a long term solution.

Also, this is pretty much spot on. Automation was coming regardless of a wage hike and the ideas posted here are something all politicians and corporations are starting to have to think about. The other option is a serious violent revolution.

[Faroth]

But I'm not sure what else it could do. I don't think it could run the cash register.

Kiosks replace the register. I gotta tell you...they're awesome.

The march to basic income continues.

In the past I've been skeptical of this, but as we continue to automate and reduce the need of workers, I can see more of it being something to consider.

[Wolfheart9]

This article is a bit older (May 3rd), but also backs the idea:

Why robots are coming for US service jobs

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cb4c93c4-0...#axzz49gw9qeuD





This is not to scare people, this is coming regardless of the $15 minimum wage hike, it may just come quicker, or further down the line depending on stuff like minimum wage, and cost of living going up/down.

This does though, bring us closer to a serious discussion about basic income, and overhauling our notion of welfare. Including superseding the bureaucratic nightmares of the current welfare programs, with one flat "income" that is chained to the cost of living index, at least till automation takes a bigger part of contributing to the economy.

With things like OLO, a 3D printer for your phone:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...one-3d-printer

And soon 3d printers creating food, and organs, etc... basic income will become, in my opinion, inevitable in the better developed nations. Not because people are lazy, but because there won't be enough low skilled jobs available for everyone. And putting people in prison due to petty theft, or dealing with black market items like drugs due to poverty is not a long term solution.

Yea, unfortunately the way the world is going, unless there are laws to regulate what percentage of your work can be automated, it's going to either be basic income, or hunger games. And for the people no doubt ready to reply with 'JUST GET BETTER EDUCATION AND GET BETTER JOBS!'... If there were 1 million jobs, and 1 million people.. and then you automate all of the low skill jobs, leaving 250,000 jobs and 1,000,000 people, whom by some miracle all were highly educated.. that's 750,000 highly educated unemployed people.

[Zephyr Storm]

The thing that I find hilarious about the whole "fast food workers need $15/hour wage" is that they are literally fighting and protesting themselves out of their very own jobs. Companies will have ZERO qualms with replacing as many people as possible with machines if it means higher profit margins in the long run. Granted, they probably would have been replaced by computer kiosks and robotic machines eventually anyway, but this whole $15/hour thing is just speeding that process up even faster.

My suggestion? Go get a real job instead of working at one that was never meant to support a family anyway.

[Vyxn]

the government. you can't have the majority of your population die of starvation because the only work they'd ever get hired for is all automated.

that's how you get civil wars and revolutions.

the government? and where does the government get the money to then pay for the basic income?

[alexw]

What does this have to do with Fox news?

The original article is taken from Fox news which for months now has been "frothing" about the various moves to raise the minimum wage, while making no mention of the inevitability of robots replacing workers due to continually falling automation costs.

[Wolfheart9]

The thing that I find hilarious about the whole "fast food workers need $15/hour wage" is that they are literally fighting and protesting themselves out of their very own jobs. Companies will have ZERO qualms with replacing as many people as possible with machines if it means higher profit margins in the long run. Granted, they probably would have been replaced by computer kiosks and robotic machines eventually anyway, but this whole $15/hour thing is just speeding that process up even faster.

My suggestion? Go get a real job instead of working at one that was never meant to support a family anyway.

Ladies and gentlemen: The root of the problem.

Though to be fair, still not a supporter of the $15 an hour myself. $10 is reasonable.

[I Push Buttons]

the government? and where does the government get the money to then pay for the basic income?

By taxing you Vyxn, obviously. Just you, 100000000% tax rate to steal all of your moneys and give it to minorities.

Is that what you want to hear?

[Fugus]

And in related news, Foxconn has automated away about 60,000 positions away from their factories at current count as the automated machinery is cheaper than paying the less than $3 per hour labor.

Sorry, but killing a living wage due to automation is doing no one any favors except for the ones who own the company which the automation already helps to begin with.

https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...es-with-robots

[Alvito]

Okay, bagging french fries? I agree.



But I'm not sure what else it could do. I don't think it could run the cash register.

Self check out at grocery stores seem to get the job done. you just need someone to help with issues or show elderly how to work it.

[Wolfheart9]

the government? and where does the government get the money to then pay for the basic income?

Taxes
All the money no longer spent on unpaid hospital visits
All the money no longer spent on social security
All the money no longer spent on.. you know this list will be long, just 'all government policies that pay to support people'
Oh, and elimination of tax loopholes so someone with 15 houses and enough money to buy a small country can no longer pay less per year than an average joe family man.

[alexw]

Winter would you like to pay their unemplyment government aid?

There is absolutely no need to. The robots will increase profitability. Take that increase in profitability via the tax system and use those monies to pay the unemployment aid.

In fact automate everything possible, tax the consequent boosts to profits, and distribute that income via a basic income.

[Alvito]

This isn't really news. We have seen this in the auto and other factory industries. This is one of many more to follow

[Themius]

This was coming regardless of wage increases or not, just want that to be abundantly clear.

[Wolfheart9]

This isn't really news. We have seen this in the auto and other factory industries. This is one of many more to follow

Yea, back in the day factory work was the go-to. Anyone out of school could get into one and while it wasn't glorious work, it was enough to survive.. now good luck getting into one that's not complete ass.

This was coming regardless of wage increases or not, just want that to be abundantly clear.

This. Want this kind of stuff to stop, want minimum wage to stay where it is? Then lower the cost of living to match minimum wage, rather than making minimum wage match cost of living.

[Tyrianth]

By taxing you Vyxn, obviously. Just you, 100000000% tax rate to steal all of your moneys and give it to minorities.

Is that what you want to hear?

People like him aren't interested in actual discussion. They prefer to "trick" you into saying the evil "T-word" as if that's all it takes for them to win an argument.