People in the Democrat Left such as Bill DeBlasio want a “robot tax” to penalize automation that they say displaces workers. Here is a song for them from the British “Horrible Histories” series. (Lyrics here)
Forbes article on the proposed “robot tax” The “robot tax” would apply to any company that used a forklift to replace backbreaking manual labor and also “would require Washington eliminate all tax incentives for any innovation that leads to automation.”
The Luddites have been wrong for more than 2000 years (the Romans were afraid an animal-propelled harvesting machine would make slavery uneconomical, as if that would have been a Bad Thing) and even the otherwise highly-capable Queen Elizabeth I refused to grant a patent for a knitting machine because she was afraid it would put weavers out of work. When Henry Ford automated automobile production it created more jobs, and at much higher wages, because it made automobiles available to the middle class.
The Democrats want a mandatory $15 an hour minimum wage regardless of whether the jobs can justify this kind of pay. Automation is what delivers $25 and $30 an hour jobs, and should be encouraged at every opportunity. This is what I mean by “A square deal for the working American; what would Henry Ford do?”