Pundits profess to be very concerned about Social Security. Professional alarmists will solemnly announce that: “Once, there were 20 workers paying into Social Security for every person drawing from those funds. Now, there are 1.75 workers paying into Social Security for every recipient.” The invariable implication: “The end is near.”
This seems to be a problem, but only until we realize how much more every worker is producing. Automation, robotics, and computers have made each worker twenty times more productive. There is no problem.
In fact, if automation made each current worker twice as productive, there could be .875 workers per Social Security recipient and the value added would make up the difference.
We may take this to a logical, if impossible, conclusion. If one worker ran a giant, self-maintaining, self-feeding processing machine that produced everything that everyone needed, enough value would be added that everyone else could be on Social Security.
What is thought to be a problem, the reduction in labor necessary to provide goods and services, is a wonderful thing for an overlooked reason: Automation leaves all of us have more time to pray. The world could turn into a giant monastery/convent, filled with holy men and women spending more time than ever asking The Loving Programmer to bless us, every one.
