This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Automation is displacing many workers, and likely will do so at an accelerating rate. Think of driverless cars and trucks. Suppose factories start building tract and even custom homes. What about many office jobs? What will displaced workers do?

Doug Fabrizio on his program "Radio West" interviewed Martin Ford, the author of "Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat to the Future of Work," regarding this issue. The author contends that automation will impact us all sooner than we think and his recommended solution is a "Guaranteed Basic Income." The benefits of this, counterintuitively, many conservatives should like. The government will not be involved in supporting some businesses over others. The free market will decide which businesses succeed and which do not. People will have enough of an income to still be consumers, avoid welfare, and one parent may be able to stay home with the kids. People may be able to do volunteer work which helps their communities.

Please give this program a listen and share it with your friends and family and discuss. This is about our future. Here is the link to the program: http://radiowest.kuer.org/post/robots-and-future-work

Mark Rothacher

Holladay