The robot waltz: An appreciation

By: 60 Minutes Overtime Staff
Topics: Overtime Original

"Manufacturing automation" may not have a fun ring to it, but the 60 Minutes team spoke of nothing but fun after reporting "March of the Machines" for the broadcast this week. The story, reported by Steve Kroft, is about the new generation of robots marching out of the realm of science fiction and into mainstream manufacturing, medicine, and other industries.

"Steve has wanted to a story on robots for a long time," says Maria Gavrilovic, who worked with Kroft and producer Harry Radliffe on the segment. There were a lot of fun and playful moments on this shoot that didn't make the broadcast, Maria told us. And, sure enough, when we looked at the footage, it was clear that correspondent Kroft has a genuine appreciation for all things robotic. So, we decided to follow Kroft's cue and produce something we're calling the "The Robot Waltz" for Overtime this week. Let's call it an appreciation of the new wave of robots at work and in development around the world.

Produced by Lisa Orlando for 60 Minutes Overtime.

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by Dr_Bob_Goldschmidt January 14, 2013 11:25 AM EST: We are, for the first time, seeing rapidly growing corporate profits with falling payrolls. This is the leading edge of the robotics/computer revolution destroying the middle class and is only sustainable by using rapidly growing individual or government credit to purchase the goods needed to sustain our economy.

We are rapidly reaching a point where we must decide whether these excess workers will be put on extended unemployment/welfare, hired as a last resort by government or by industry. I believe that once industrial leaders understand the thin economic ice we are encountering, they will prefer inducements to hire excess workers over the other options.

Unions have traditionally been used to provide such inducements, but the results are work stoppages and inefficiencies. Another approach is to initiate an excess profits over payroll tax (EPOP tax) which taxes at 100% all reported corporate profits beyond an industry-specific fraction of that corporation's US payroll.

Then, beyond that point, if a CEO wishes to double his profits after taxes, he will need to also double his payroll. It would be up to the creativeness of our industries to decide how best to utilize the extra payroll.; Reply to this comment

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