When McCormick and the other big farm implement manufacturers began automating the planting and picking processes, lots of people were put out of work. Many who could not find jobs after WWI went to cities like Detroit, and found jobs in manufacturing facilities. All the new jobs existed because people found ways to cut costs by putting other people out of work. People found that it was cheaper to put gasoline in a car once a week than to put hay and grain into a horse every day. Soon, blacksmiths, saddle and buggy makers, and the whole host of jobs that were dependent on horse transportation began to disappear. Many rode the old jobs, that didn’t disappear immediately, into retirement. Others went to work in the new industries.
The new jobs were productive. Human life was made easier. Drudgery was lessened. Now, of course, we have so much automation that the government can provide food stamps, utility payments, and public housing for nearly everyone who wants it. So, since WWII, a new kind of job has been increasing faster than the old, productive jobs that are still being done.
There are more people spending their lives in the whining and complaining industries than ever. At the heart of every whine and complaint is the realization that they aren’t getting as much as they want, that other people are getting more, and they have no way to make more but to complain until someone gives them more. As more and more productive jobs are automated, they will be given more, and the whining will increase.
It’s odd that more people don’t take advantage of their spare time to pray more. We could all spend a lot of time every day giving thanks for our blessings. Few who make a living by complaining and whining are going to do that. If they did, they’d soon be unemployed.
