Robots are coming, and with good reason.

A former CEO recently announced why many retailers and food chains are entertaining using robots instead of human workers. He was gracious in only saying that it is cheaper in the long run to pay $35,000 for a robot to bag French fries than to pay an inefficient human $15 (the new baseline for a “living wage”) to do the same work.

When I started out going to college, the basic return on investment period (ROI) that a business should even entertain was three years. Meaning, you had to recoup your investment through recovered wages, increased revenues, or reduced expenses within three years to make it worth doing. That is probably lower now.

A $15 full time worker costs the employer $30,000 a year, in wages only. ($15 x 40 x 50 weeks) The employer is also paying for their vacation time (at least a week). The employer also has to foot the bill for at least basic health care if they have more than 50 employees. A large McD franchise just might. So, buying a $35,000 robot to scoop fries is almost instantly worth the investment. Look at the tangibles.

A robot is not going to call out sick. It might need repairs, but any robot manufacturer is going to bend over backwards to get it fixed. They want to sell more robots. Having them break easily is bad for business. With basic, regular maintenance, the robot is going to save the employer money by always showing up for work. A savvy employer is going to have a maintenance package included in the purchase price–or he shouldn’t be in business.  A human gets paid a benefit (sick time) for NOT coming to work.

A robot is never going to demand Family Medical Leave Assistance (FMLA). It is never going to have a sick mother, or a wife that gives birth so that the robot needs paternity leave. FMLA benefits include 12 weeks—that 3 MONTHS—of unpaid, protected leave time during the 12-month year.  You can’t fire the loafer who is impacting your business.  Sure, you can hire someone in the interim–only to have to spend the time and wages training them–to let them go when the FMLA spongue returns.

A robot is never going to steal from the employer. It is going to do what it is programmed to do. If it is a fry scooper, that is all it will do. It isn’t going to give its friends free fries. It isn’t going to skim cash out of the register. Given that 40-50% of all retail losses stem from internal activity, this could save an employer thousands over a year.

The robot is never going to file a Workers Compensation claim. It isn’t going to cut its finger, or slip on the floor. It’ll never bang its head, stub its toe, spray cleaning chemicals into its eye or anything else on those equals.

The robot is never going to risk a liability claim against the employer by, say, spitting into someone’s food because they are a policeman. It will never refuse service because the customer is wearing a uniform.

So, given the litigious nature of our society, the “me-first”; give me free stuff mentality this young generation is showing us, it should not come as a surprise that employers opt for technology over teenagers. It is our foot. We shot it ourselves. Learn to limp.

Survey proves most civilians are self-absorbed idiots

Mark Dice is the guy who goes around doing “man on the street” interviews, asking people about giving up the Second Amendment for the good of the economy, or the First Amendment because people need to learn to curb their thoughts and speech.

This weekend he did it again in San Diego where he asked several people what they were doing for Memorial Day, or how they were celebrating, or if they thought it was right for the government to cancel NASA’s long standing celebrating of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon for Memorial Day. Another angle was how this was the day we celebrate the end of slavery or that the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

It is amazing to see people in their 30’s and younger who simply have no concept of what the “holiday” is for. The final interviewee, clearly military nailed it.

But there was one who refused to answer because as an American she didn’t have to. She’s right, but what a convenient time to invoke that privilege. Another was “all about” the LGBT community and joining them in their celebration. Another female just saw it as a day off work on a Monday.

So, clearly, the majority of American civilians do not understand the meaning and purpose behind it. It is NOT just a holiday, a reason to gather with family/friends, have a BBQ and get sunburned drinking too much beer during the park volleyball or horseshoes tournament.

It is a distinctly military honoring holiday, but even then, most civilians get it wrong. I receive several “Happy Memorial Day” salutations during the day from those who know I served in the Army. I gave up correcting them.

Memorial Day is about remembering and honoring those who fought AND DIED during the wars protecting us and our freedoms. I am still very much alive.

Veteran’s Day is the day to thank everyone who served—regardless of the length of their service.

We are a society in full cratering mode.