The Start of a Real Big Goal

Here's well known scientist Dr. Michio Kaku with his thoughts on what humans jobs will disappear and what jobs will continue to be done by humans.

Back in 2003, I had just started driving a taxi again when the company I worked for took out the CB radios and put in a computer dispatching system.  Literally over night, the entire industry changed.  The change in technology made it impossible to make a good living as a taxi driver.  Later came Uber and Lyft, driving more coffin nails into the taxi world.  Self-driving cars will deal it another death blow in the years to come.

But technology changing industries and taking over jobs formerly done by humans is not new.  The same thing has happened to millions and millions of other jobs in recent decades.  Experts project 6% of today's jobs will be taken over by robotics, artificial intelligence (A.I.), or some other form of new technology by 2021.  That's over 9 MILLION jobs lost in the next 5 years.   Another report says 47% of human jobs will be replaced in the next 20 years.  That adds up to over 72 million jobs lost by the time today's toddlers graduate college.

I had already come to the conclusion that I needed to create my own job here in North Carolina.  I just couldn't find a "real job," despite a wide variety of experience in my life.  As I looked deeper into this issue, I realized just how devastating these tech-related job losses will be to our society.  I also realized that very few people are really looking at this huge issue.  There are three ways people are addressing this huge issue.

1.  Ignore it.  Most people don't realize how big this job loss is going to be, and how catastrophic its impact will be on the United States, and other nations.  If we ignore this issue, it could honestly lead to the end of civilization as we know it.  Really.

2.  Universal Basic Income.  The majority of people talking about this issue are from the high tech world.  They see the writing on the wall, and understand how serious this loss of millions of jobs will be.  Most of these people are backing the idea of 'universal basic income."  That means every single person in the country would get a check, with an amount around the poverty level, each month.  This would pull a lot of people out of abject poverty, and people could work to earn higher incomes.

Personally, I see this idea enabling millions of people to get high and play video games all day.  Yes, a lot of people would be helped.  But it would also likely lead to more widespread drug and alcohol addiction, and a lot of people would still live in poverty because of poor role models in their life which would lead to poor life choices.

To make universal basic income happen, the Republicans and Democrats would have to work together, raise taxes on the wealthy and well-to-do, and pass a huge law that most people will see as a Socialist policy.  I don't see that happening anytime soon.

3.  Raise income of low wage jobs.  Urbanist and economic development expert Richard Florida says we need to make the millions of low pay service jobs into better paying jobs.  Again, this would help millions of people, and is a good idea.  But this would take the Republicans and Democrats of the U.S. working together to pass a huge law that's in the best interest of the people, but not the politicians.  Again, I don't see this happening any time soon.

Those are the three main ways people are looking at to deal with the huge, long term, issue of technology replacing TENS of MILLIONS of human jobs.

I propose a 4th way to deal with this issue.  Let's take our economy, and future job losses, into our own hands, and bring back the idea of American Ingenuity.  I say we encourage Americans to start millions of new businesses in the next 25 years.

Here's the goal I propose:

Encourage Americans create 100 million new businesses by the year 2043. 

From now on, I will use money made from my artwork to help promote this idea.  I will use money made from my writing to help promote this idea.  This is what I'm working towards, a future where most Americans run their own businesses, like Americans did early in our history when most people were either farmers of craftspeople.

This is my focus for the next 25+ years.  I could use your help.  You can help support me by buying my creative work.  You can share this idea in your networks of people.  You can start a small business of your own.  You can help another person who's starting a business.  You can buy the products and services of small and new businesses in your area.

Oh... and you can help make sure your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and younger people everywhere will be able to find meaningful work and make a good living in the future.

Are you with me?

#100millionby2043