2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders, Automation, and the Fate of the US [View all]Autumn Colors
(2,379 posts)Ask any medical transcriptionist ("MT" in the USA how (s)he feels about automation and you'll get an earful. The internet enabled a lot of us to work from home, which was great for a time, but then our jobs started to get outsourced to India.
Now, our entire profession is being replaced by electronic medical record systems and much more accurate voice recognition software. Part of the ACA included government grant money to hospitals and medical practices to help them install these systems by the deadline date ... and then our work started disappearing faster and faster.
There's a job website for MT's I frequent that will actually show the number of people who have applied for each job through the site. You'll see THOUSANDS of people applying for every job, and you'll see fewer and fewer job listings.
I had a business with 3 transcriptionists working for me. Now, there isn't even enough work for me to do on my own. Initially, I couldn't afford health insurance anymore, but now I qualify for Medicaid. I had a house with a traditional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage that had been well within my budget ... suddenly, it was no longer in my budget, and I lost it to foreclosure. I'm now about 90% financially dependent on my boyfriend. The little work that remains pays for the phone and internet (business expenses) and my own car expenses. That's it. I'm thankful to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and not having to make the choice to surrender our cats to a shelter.
I'm a female, in my mid-50s whose main job asset had always been being able to type fast. I was an Administrative Assistant for years before becoming an MT, but now most of those jobs require a Bachelor's Degree (which I don't have). College isn't free at the present time, but even if I could pay for school, what should I study? What won't be replaced by automation?
There's so much truth in this essay. I hope people pay attention, wake up, and take action to set us on the correct path before the 1% makes the decision for us.
Needless to say, my boyfriend and I will be voting for Bernie in the Connecticut Primary next month.