Alberto Ramon Velasco Jr.
Homelessness is drastically evolving because of automation. The U.S. and other developed counties are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, where automation fundamentally changes the way certain people live by polarizing employment. The polarization of employment derails people’s way of life due to a majority of mid-skill workers transitioning to low-skill jobs or not reentering the workforce. With this in mind, I argue that an increase in automation causes an increase in homelessness in the U.S. with regards to the Department of Education’s (DOE) standard for homelessness. To substantiate my argument, I utilize general and student homeless data to run a panel linear regression model. I use skill’s based employment data to illustrate changes in homelessness within each U.S. State as mid-skill jobs continue to decline. The compilation of these results plays a crucial role in comprehending how automation affects the homeless problem in the U.S. and demonstrates that the way homelessness is defined matters, because current U.S. federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Point in time (P.I.T) counts omit a majority of homelessness year by year.
Comments
Very informative poster Alberto. I wholeheartedly agree that the absence of a clear method to measure the homelessness crisis makes it difficult to address the issue. Also, before this crisis we are living in, the media would speak to the economic outlook as a tight work-force with the more jobs available than people looking for work. One can only ask themselves, if unemployment is so low and jobs are available why are the homeless numbers increasing? As you indirectly pointed, the market is picking winners and losers. The winners are the owner of the means of production and the losers are the lowest skilled laborers which could be replaced by automation, increasing wealth inequality. This leads to my next point, as harsh as it may sound, the economy just leaves some people behind. The largest economy in the world cannot neglect progress so those at the bottom aren’t hurt. As you pointed, Universal Basic Income is a great middle-ground, the market can continue to expand and people would not be left behind. —Jay Perez
This is very true! Common economic theory dictates winners and losers. One of the main parts of my research is to correct the image that homelessness is decreasing because it’s clearly not. First step in fixing a problem is knowing that there is a problem. We should never neglect progress but we should rethink how the economy works. The economy should be human centered where humans drive the economy instead of the economy driving humans. Thank you for taking the time for reading my poster and providing feedback. —Alberto Ramon Velasco Jr.
I was blown away by this! This is very informative while still being attractive and simple for the follower to understand. Automation may have its good and bad to offer but it is great to see evidence that reflects how it is affecting citizens. While you discussed many industrial jobs being at risk of automation, are there any career fields that thus far have resisted automation? What lessons might be taken away from those fields in order to protect jobs in the future? —Rosbel Alvarado
Career fields that thus far resisted automation are careers which the majority of the labor is non-routine or in careers which wages for employees are fairly low. For example, it’s a lot harder to automate the work of a surgeon or a landscaper because their work is typically non-routine making it harder to develop a system to perform their task. Low wage careers haven’t been replaced yet due the cost of innovating.Career fields that thus far resisted automation are careers which the majority of the labor is non-routine or in careers which wages for employees are fairly low. I believe we have to value people over money if we want to protect future jobs. Most business are rewarded for the amount of money they make but not the satisfaction of the consumer or the value they provide to their community. —Alberto Ramon Velasco Jr.
I think this is a great topic! While lives can become easier due to the increase in automation, many people don’t have the level of education or skill-set needed to keep up with the ever-changing environment. Very good work and research! —Terrian Spurs
This is exactly the point. Lives have become easier to some degree due to automation but there is a big gap in the middle where many people actually find themselves in hard economic time. The increase of automation has been driving inequality by polarizing the labor force. I’m glad you think it’s a great topic and thank you for your kind words. —Alberto Ramon Velasco Jr.
What are the different types of homelessness? —Marco Mejia
Homelessness changes by the institution or state entity that measures it. A global interpretation of homelessness is “Literal Homelessness.” Someone is considered literal homelessness if they are unsheltered(on the street) or living sheltered dependent housing. The U.S Department of Eduction (DOE) defines homelessness more broadly. The DOE considers individuals living in a doubled-up housing arrangement as homeless. Thanks for the question! —Alberto Ramon Velasco Jr.
Since the dawn of the digital age, we all see that decision-making in Finance, Politics, Health, etc… have undergone revolutionary. Often, I read some articles about how automation could help businesses lower operating costs, improve worker safe, reduce factory lead time and so on and although automation doesn’t necessarily mean that people become irrelevant., it is definitely one of the many factors that contribute to homelessness rates throughout the years. Additionally, not only in the U.S but around the world, 1 in 13 people in many big cities like L.A, London or New York have been homeless at one point in their lives and this number is keep increasing. This is really sad thing to think about… Overall, your article is well-written and is given me a chance to think about Automation and how it will affect the future of society. —Kristen
This is very true!!! Much research currently focuses on the plus side of automation to the increases of productivity driving economic gains for businesses. However, automation research neglects how the jobs being created by automation won’t typically be obtainable for the average mid-skill worker. Most mid-skill workers susceptible to lose their jobs because of automation find themselves either accepting lower paying jobs or not reentering the job market. A lot of these individuals have families and now cannot sustain their cost of living due to lower economic gains. This leads many individuals to rely on family and friends for some type of housing safety net. In my study, I find that there is an increase double-up housing in the U.S. since 2007 through 2017. Which implies many individuals have moved toward a form of dependent housing. —Alberto Ramon Velasco Jr.
In the weeks or months since you began this project, the conversation around UBI has changed dramatically (even over just the past month!). Where do you foresee this conversation going in the future? —Rob Reichle
The UBI conversation has changed drastically due to this pandemic. I foresee UBI becoming a mainstream talking point like universal health insurance. Even though there is currently a lot of federal aid going to corporations and small businesses a lot business will not survive. This force majeure event will lead businesses to find ways to innovate and increase efficiency where they can operate even if there is a pandemic. Most likely cutting jobs or the percent of workers needed to perform a task. This will lead to a decrease in labor participation in the U.S., which push UBI to the mainstream more than it currently is. In recent conversation with someone in the automation sector, they told me `` businesses are using this time to streamline tasks via automation to drive production and money.“In the past some businesses might of held off on automation to protect certain employees. However, many people aren’t able to work right now leading many businesses to do whatever it takes from keeping it from going bankrupt. —Alberto Ramon Velasco Jr.