On 09/28/11 09:09 am, Kurt Ullman wrote:

We are still doing as much mfg (adjusted for inflation) as we did in
the 70s and 80s. It is just that mfg productivity increases have been
about 2% greater per year than the rest of the economy. We have lost
many more good paying jobs to the robots than to the Chinese. Heck the
auto industry is one of the most highly automated in the US

Decades ago we were told that automation would mean a reduction in the
working week. It has happened, but not in the way we were led to
believe: the *average* working week is shorter, with many people working
zero hours because they are no longer needed (4.5 unemployed for every
opening) and others working long hours at two low-paying jobs just
trying to make ends meet.

Perce