Robots versus the underclass

But in the past year or two, some of the economists who study this issue have begun to veer in a different direction: They have produced research suggesting that automation is going to be relatively good to the middle class—creating new opportunities not only for professionals and managers but also for what MIT economist David Autor describes as “relatively well-remunerated, middle-skill” workers. These workers have attended some college or have bachelor’s degrees, and they make at or above the median wage. They are the heart of what Americans consider the middle class—and it now appears they aren’t disappearing at all.

This doesn’t mean automation is cost-free, however. According to this new line of thinking, the main victims of automation will not be middle-income workers but rather those with lower levels of income and education—that is, Americans who make less than $35,000 a year and have only a high school degree.

On the surface, the question of which demographic group is being most harmed by automation may sound like just a highly technical argument among economists. But, in fact, it sheds light on the utter inadequacy of U.S. politics and policy. While Democrats worry that the middle class is being threatened by robots, and Republicans woo the middle class with tax cuts, neither party is doing nearly enough to address the technology-driven disaster facing lower-income, less-educated Americans.