One hundred years ago, most Americans worked manual labor jobs, what will the future bring?

Question

During the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century and until the mid-50s (I'm guessing) the majority of US Labor was manual. People on assembly lines cranking out widgets. With the advent of technology, we have slowly moved from a production society to a service society. Most of the assembly lines have been automated, a Caterpillar tractor has replaced 25 ditchdiggers, etc.

There are approximate 12 million undocumented workers filling the jobs that most Americans supposedly won't work. Basically, the remnants of the physical labor industries that haven't been automated yet.

In twenty years, if things do not changed, we will swell to 50 million undocumented. If automation continues and strawberries are picked by machine, and lawn are mowed by machine, how will the American economy be able to support 50 million unemployed?

Answer 1

If there's no jobs, the immigrants won't come, so don't worry about it.

Answer 2

Manual labor means doing by hand. Picking crops, cleaning offices and homes, janitorial work, dishwashing, garbage collection, window washing, plumbing, carpentry. Many Americans think they are a notch above doing those kinds of jobs. Other people do it and these happen to be immigrants who do not have benefits, no legal claims to being in the country, and earn less. This problem needs to be solved first, and some countries like Mexico are really trying, but 70 years of mismanagement and corruption are hard to fix in a few years, unfortunately the immigration problem has finally reached scandalous proportions and has to be addressed, but I don't recall it being a problem twenty, thirty, even forty years ago, it was convenient to both sides. Manual labor does not mean having to carry heavy loads of war equipment in a war nobody wants. If America has to go and fix problems elsewhere then what the heck is the United Nations good for anyway? The rest of the world did not put your forces in Afghanistan, or Iraq, your ability to create your own future problems (and this was said by Madeleine Allbright), and your President, put you there. Mexico has not seen an armed revolution on its own soil since the end of the Mexican Revoution that started in 1910 and ended in 1920. We are in 2006 and so far nothing yet. I guess that's a pretty good record too, and believe me, we have had many reasons for a revolution, valid ones, unfortunately for Mexicans, it´s been just a host of bad and repressive governments one after the other. Mexicans don't need to put armed forces anywhere because we lack armament, and technological equipment, and even if America were to provide that, and the training, I bet it would not be used for the original purpose, it would be used by corrupt groups in this country to further their interests, heck, we could even end up with a military dictatorship, and believe me you would not want to see the Mexican variety so close to home. Mexico and the United States are neighbors, and yet we do not get altogether very well due to a number of reasons. America does not take Mexico seriously at all. We are convenient for some things, but not for others. I remember when the NAFTA became a reality for Canada, Mexico and the United States, some good things have come from it, but not many people were happy when it became known to the the public that Mr. Cantor and his team had bugged the cars assigned to the Mexican negotiators and listened to everything they said, so they had an edge and were ready for whatever the Mexicans were going to say. That is not fair. Talk about the vetoes on products, and a thousand other little things that are like stones in your shoes. NOt a really nice thing to do. Eavesdropping among neighbors is frowned upon. This disposable country policy is not new, the second world war was a prime example of that. The USA was pretty chummy with the rest of the American Continent, until the end of the war. Then they dumped us. Battles can be fought in many fronts, whicn don't need guns and bombs, but can be equally effective. One phrase in particular caught my attention, and that was that you were doing the jobs other countries don't want. Believe me, nobody does. Not that kind at least.

Answer 3

You don't get it. If strawberries could be picked by machine, they would be. They get crushed. Try as they might, agribusiness has not found a way around human labor. However, illegals don't even want that job once they get their feet on the ground, hence the need for a guest worker program with a built in requirement to STAY in agriculture (and not go to construction, etc.)

The unemployment issue is real, though. We have been in an upturn, but what about the next down turn? Who will be out of a job then?

Answer 4

They need to curtail the welfare system. The US/Mexico border needs to be patrolled, and enforced. These sanctuary cities need to be un-sanctuaried(co-opted by foreign countries). This is the United States we're talking about here, the Union, the 50 states, accept no substitutes. Mexico needs to get a handle on their population growth, even if that means deporting the Catholic church leaders with their weepy-eyed 'go forth and multiply' crap.
Population growth is a HUGE global problem. Moving half your citizenry to the next country is a half-hearted way of addressing it.
Baby 8 billion is expected in about 2030, or so, Baby 10 billion not long after that. It's like compound interest. Remember that when the 20th century started, there were a little over 1 billion people in the world. 2000 saw 6.1 billion. That's what, a 500% increase in about 100 years? No wonder 20% of the world's population lives in abject poverty, or worse. People gotta find another hobby, and groups like the Catholics need to learn to spell 'condom'...the alternative to condoms are called 'nukes', and I think we'd rather see used rubbers than mushroom clouds, don't you? LOL

Answer 5

I liked that answer about dancing! I dance all the time now!
Do you think the end of the Roman Empire er' I mean the American Empire is nigh near? It could be!?
When you think about it, if you aint' makin stuff, food, clothes,cars etc and you aren't one of the elite who owns that biz that makes the stuff; you gonna be in trouble.
No real place for you, middleclassers. The rest will be/are no better than slaves even now.
Inventors, innovators and laborers are going to be what is needed. What if you weren't born with inventing skills? The big Daddy Warbucks of today got that figured out. They are swamping the work force with cheap laborers to kill out those of us pesky, middle classes who are causing them so much trouble with our votes and bellyaching about the quality of our lives with illegals all about and causing trouble for us and our families and our children's education and quality of our lives. Turn the vast majority into automatons (live and work in a cubicle? Sound/feel familiar?) and then the minority, wealthy will call the shots, rule the roost and run the show. That's what is going on right now, right here in the USA.
Bush caters to these giants and their demands to squash the middleclass. If we don't defeat their policies of open borders, it will be the end of American as the land of freedom and opportunity.
It's THAT SERIOUS folks!
Act/Get up and vote the so and so's out!

Answer 6

Hopefully the immigration problem will look a lot different by then!
If not - the undocumented can just go back to their own country and have their government take care of them. The US has been taking care of the world for too long already!

Answer 7

Most people will be dancers, it's true like the old Roman Empire
most people will just dance. The Gaul where just into choreography (so much soul) but that shouldn't mean we don't care, some old re dun moves will just not take the prize, and we will vigilantly have to carry the torch.

Answer 8

Are people supposed to be worried that hispanic people will work more white color jobs? Who cares? Some already are, it isnt going to change America in the way that people fear. We are the land of opportunities! So stop sweating the small stuff.

Answer 9

Thats where they start taking American jobs to survive, that is why it is so critical that we act now and strategically allow LEGAL immigrants to stay here only, for the sake of Americans and immigrants in the future!

Answer 10

Better get an artistic job or write or something.
Cause this place is about to become like Africa and Africa is about
to become like America in my opinion.
Look at Zimbabwe, and what has happened there while bushbots were chasing arabs with oil.
sad.

Answer 11

GOOD QUESTION!!!!!!!!!!
i think everyones gonna have a cubicle soon. i have one all my friends work in cubicles.matter of fact im in my cube right now gonna go on my break its friday its dead here i might leave early