Thursday, August 9, 2012

Technology and poverty,what will the future hold?

Man as a species has broken the bonds suffered by all other life forms that exist on this world.The ability to manipulate our surroundings have given mankind a life of comfort and prosperity that is truly unique in the reality in which we exist.Medical advances are increasing life span and quality of life and breakthroughs in science and industry are revolutionary.
While caught up in the buzz of discovery and innovation mankind has possibly overlooked some important issues with technological development.Although it my seem unlikely,many new advances in tech could very possibly create a regression in prosperity and quality of life for the entire human species. This regression will start at the poverty level first and creep it's way all the way to the super rich if not put into check.
One such dangerous technological break through is additive manufacturing or "3d printing".While this type of creation or manufacturing is largely unheard of it has already started changing they way corporations view manufacturing.3d printing reduces the amount of material,time,and manpower needed to produce virtually ANY item imaginable. Entire production and assembly lines have been and will be replaced by a handful of 3d printers.This technology will and has begun to eliminate millions of jobs within the middle class and on down through the poor. At present many 3d printers are capable of using multiple types of material without the limits conventional manufacturing,combination printers can for example ,produce an automotive alternator with only the push of a button and when completed all moving parts and electronics are totally functional.A cad drawing or blue print will be loaded into a regular pc and then a real world product will be constructed by applying layers until the desired item is totally complete.Totally functional when removed from the printing device.This technology will end the existence of foundries,machine shops,steel mills,plastics manufacturers,even glass and ceramic producers.
Today manufacturing companies are tooling up 3d printers to create more advanced 3d printers and many sectors of the science and technology world are even very close to completing 3d printers that will replicate autonomous drone worker robots for mining the asteroid belt.The inherent danger in this type of technology seems like something from a bad science fiction novel but the fact is that it isn't fiction.
Adding to this change in the global workforce will be the autonomous vehicle.Many people are not aware that Google has created the first totally autonomous automobile and now many states have created new laws allowing these robotic vehicles to acquire learner's driving permits.This in it's self is an issue that no one can really accurately predict because no one can be sure what may happen.Though cars learning to drive themselves seems bad enough the real threat of this advancement comes from the vast numbers of truck drivers,taxi drivers,and other delivery service drivers.Imagine if every large and small commercial truck seen on the interstates were being piloted by an onboard computer.A human driver that has to stop for food and rest and other bodily demands cannot compete with a machine that feels no fatigue or attachment to family,making robotic drivers more economically viable than human drivers.All the while doing whatever they are instructed to do with out error.With the new technological boundaries lifted by 3d printing,new and unusual robotics will be possible and soon autonomous vehicles will have their very own support robots for loading ,unloading,and roadside emergencies.The lack of removable or accessible parts due to 3d printing along with robotic mechanics will weaken the demand for auto repair specialist and general mechanics.
Technology is growing a incredible rates and the world and way we live will soon change so profoundly that many people will be totally unable to keep up with the rate of change,creating more and deeper divisions within society and quite possibly a break down of society as we know it today.
Nothing is for certain but the fact that we cannot begin to predict what dangers lie ahead for the citizens of the world.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Poverty The enemy that is ignored.

In the US presidential candidates are standing on stages and battling back and fourth with their mud slinging tactics and boldly claiming to be trying to help the middle class. It's middle class this and middle class that while ignoring the citizens that are in the most desperate need of protecting,the poor.The numbers of people living at or below the poverty line has skyrocketed in recent years to a crippling high of 16 %.One out of every three Americans are hovering dangerously close to the poverty level or living below it. The tragedy of being poor is often viewed by those more fortunate as laziness or inability to compete on a intellectual level,but according to research and investigation this is a misconception.Yes there are some small percentage of people who are in poverty that have made bad decisions and or haven't put forth their best effort to work,but the vast majority of people living in poverty are employed and working as hard as possible to provide for their families.
Why then is there so much poverty?There are many reason that the US is losing or has already lost the war on poverty and the biggest reason being a failing economy.Which has come from a fundamental drop in moral fiber within the wealthiest of Americans.Low business ethics lowered average wages,moving jobs oversees to increase profit,are but a few of the reasons Americans are trapped within poverty.The unpunished criminal behavior of Wall Street bankers left not only the US in financial upheaval but also bankrupted several entire countries around the globe.Has anything truly been done to prevent this type of bad business?No in fact impoverished peoples of the US help to bail out these corrupt and morally lacking individuals who received nothing more than a slap on the wrist. All the while Obama and Romney spew lies and false hope to the weakening middle class in contest for the next term in office. One thing you will not hear on the campaign trail is any attempt or stance to stop the corrupt shadow wars in third world countries and policies to take up arms against poverty.
Poverty equals dependence and dependence equates to nothing more but a means of control by the US government.People who rely on food stamps and government aide are in no position to stand in opposition to big government.Biting the hand that feeds is not an option for the poor.This type of control has been the norm through out the history of the human species and is on the rise again here in the land of equal opportunity.The ever increasing wealth gap between the ultra wealthy and the very poor is increasing and this problem is being ramped up by the super rich politicians which have taken control of the US government.Policy makers within the hallowed halls of government twist and skew law to fit the agendas of their super rich peers to ever increase the strangle hold on the common people of the US.This is but another tactic in the toppling of the Constitution of the US and is easily overlooked or ignored by most Americans due to a ridiculous perception of the as being "less"or "too sorry to work".
The blind denial of middle class citizens and false hope spewed by fat cat career politicians has effectively blinded most Americans to the possibility of joining the poor.Within the next 50 years the middle class will disappear and only a very few will join the ranks of the wealthy with the vast majority becoming dependent on state aide for survival.
Ever wonder how many Americans that hold office within the federal and state government were poor before being elected?The number is an astounding zero.This is not natural selection of the best qualified for the job it is a symptom of a politically corrupt hold on power.The candidate that wins is the candidate that is most easily led and controlled by established heads of power.This is the root of poverty within the US,not uneducated lazy citizens,but ridiculously corrupt unqualified cronies that can neither do the job in which the hold nor have the moral fiber to do the right thing on any level.With the exception of the elected officials that are intellectually incapable of seeing the corruption and blindly supporting their party.
The economy in recent years is a testament to the failure of the party system within government and should be a clear indication that the most wealthy Americans might have been lucky in financial pursuits but are not intellectual enough to see the consequences of their scramble to accumulate as much wealth as possible.The poor and lower middle class of Americans determine the health of any economy due to the amount of money they spend.Statistically the poor and lower middle class make up about 70% of flowing cash and business in any economy.This would imply that if the poor and lower middle class have no money to spend then every financial class will eventually suffer and in the end there will be the very few super rich and then everyone else.During this decline the US will become ever more dependent on foreign investing which will sway foreign policy and give control to powers that operate outside the US and quite possibly enemies of the US.For any who cannot see the decline of the US on a socio-economic level it is time to open your eyes and take a hard look at the US on everyday street corners.Then take an objective and thorough look into the laws and policies created by Washington and what effect it actually has on the people.Nothing in recent years has been done to end poverty in the opposite many things have been done to increase it.
The only way the middle class will avoid poverty and the poor will escape it is by changing the group in control of Washington.To end poverty cleansing of government is the only real solution.The elimination of the two party system along with striking down all of the Constitutionally illegal laws passed recently along with illegal laws passed early in the last century to hold back independents from coming to power.
Alas few Americans can see through the propaganda and self denial of the impending storm and before the citizens of this land take a stand many will suffer.The cloud of fear and self importance is a fog that most cannot see through and will be the blockade that stops this land from becoming the great land it could potentially become.If we as a people are very lucky we will unite before many die and suffer needlessly for the gain of the few.