Anti Wage-Slavery Pro-Freedom Quotations Of The Week 869-871

At the Philips Electronics factory on the coast of China, hundreds of workers use their hands and specialized tools to assemble electric shavers. That is the old way.

At a sister factory here in the Dutch countryside, 128 robot arms do the same work with yoga-like flexibility. Video cameras guide them through feats well beyond the capability of the most dexterous human.

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And they do it all without a coffee break — three shifts a day, 365 days a year.

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This is the future. A new wave of robots, far more adept than those now commonly used by automakers and other heavy manufacturers, are replacing workers around the world in both manufacturing and distribution.

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“With these machines, we can make any consumer device in the world,” said Binne Visser, an electrical engineer who manages the Philips assembly line in Drachten.

Skilled Work, Without the Worker

By JOHN MARKOFF

New York Times

Published: August 18, 2012
[emphasis JS]

"You go into an Apple store and you see the future," Faux said. "The future's not in the technology -- the future of the labor force is all in those smart college-educated people with the T-shirts whose job is to be a retail clerk for Chinese goods."

Obama, Romney and the Low-Wage Future of America

Dan Froomkin

08/28/2012

Huffpost Blog

The glut of everything from steel and household appliances to cars and apartments is hampering China’s efforts to emerge from a sharp economic slowdown.

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China is likely to buy fewer goods and services from abroad when the sovereign debt crisis in Europe is already hurting demand, raising the prospect of a global glut of goods….

China Confronts Mounting Piles of Unsold Goods

By KEITH BRADSHER

New York Times

Published: August 23, 2012