Driverless trucks are wiping out jobs

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Originally published: The Peoples Voice (February 8, 2018)   | 

Driverless trucks are on the way sooner than most workers realize, as corporations seek to raise profits by cutting labour costs. Media reports indicate that investors and researchers agree that tech change in the trucking industry will soon replace 1.7 million jobs in the U.S., where trucking was the most common job in 28 states in 2014. Some predict that pay rates for the remaining human drivers will fall rapidly from the current average annual of $42,500. The jobs of another 1.7 million taxi, bus and delivery vehicle drivers are also at stake.

In April 2016, Uber acquired “Otto”, a kit to turn any big rig into a self-driving truck. The Otto technology enables trucks to navigate highways, stay in a lane, and respond to traffic conditions without human intervention. Otto’s equipment currently costs about $30,000, far less than the annual pay for a driver, and that number will drop in the coming years.

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Living in the Capitalists’ Casino

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First published here https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/02/09/living-in-the-capitalists-casino/ 

 Photo by Emilio Labrador | CC BY 2.0

The stock market, for all of its seeming mystery, is more of an emotional barometer for the rich than a reflection of material production. Abstracted from the lived experiences of those it exploits, it reflects the jubilation and depression of the wealthy. On Monday, the Dow dropped 1,600 points the largest point decline in one day in history. The historic stock market dip was primarily caused by the news that wages had improved slightly for workers. You would think that rising wages would be something they investors would celebrate, justifying their long-time trickle-down promises. Instead, they panicked clutching their pocketbooks. Why? Because the capitalists know the logic of the game: suppress wages, make profit. Despite the claims of wonks and centrists in the capitalist’s casino, when we win, they lose.

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Two Minutes to Doomsday

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 First published here https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/30/two-minutes-to-doomsday/ 

Not since 1953, when the U.S. and the Soviets exploded thermonuclear bombs, has the world been such a powder keg!

Only recently, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock forward 30 seconds. It now registers two minutes to midnight. Verily, it’s lights out when the clock strikes 12:00 midnight. Ka-boom, it’s over!

What’s going on?

Hitherto, in the aftermath of the Cold War, the clock was set all the way back to 17 minutes to midnight. Thereafter, it wasn’t until 1998, when India and Pakistan staged back-to-back nuclear weapon testing, that the famous timepiece moved forward into single digits once again. It’s important to note that resetting the clock is not a frivolous undertaking. A group of distinguished scientists make that decision.

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Is globalisation finished?

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The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States crystallised fears among sections of the financial elite that the world economy was beginning to spin towards a new era of protectionism. During his campaign Trump used rhetoric that echoed right-wing populist parties elsewhere in the developed world. In its most virulent form, trade protectionism was conjoined with anti-immigrant discourse aimed at Mexicans and other Latinos “south of the border”. The message was designed to appeal to workers disaffected and distanced from the neoliberal elite whose free trade policies had supposedly caused job losses as employers sought cheaper labour abroad. The message worked for Trump, as the Democrats had no place to hide from the suggestion that they were to blame. 

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