View of the Week (Special Edition): The 2017 Budget Outlook

The 2017 Budget and Economic Outlook from Congressional Budget Office

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): On @POTUS Watch & The Future

The weekend here in the United States has been dominated by President Trump's assertions about President Obama having authorized a wiretap on him.    Based on all indications, it simply cannot be done as it must be authorized by a Court.     The Republicans are noting that they would be investigating this.   This is also as the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, amended his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee as charges of perjury continues to be noted against The Attorney General--including assertions that he has violated a law called the False Statements Act.  This is as the Republicans just announced their Obamacare replacement that is yet to address some key provisions.

Beyond the Shores of the United States, there are changes going on in Europe as we speak.    One very interesting group that has begun in Europe was begun by the Former Greek Finance Minister with some key provisions as part of the alternatives that is emerging today with this Manifesto by 

.."A MANIFESTO FOR DEMOCRATISING EUROPE

For all their concerns with global competitiveness, migration, and terrorism, only one prospect truly terrifies the Powers of Europe: Democracy! They speak in democracy’s name but only to deny, exercise and suppress it in practice. They seek to co-opt, evade, corrupt, mystify, usurp and manipulate democracy in order to break its energy and arrest its possibilities.

As we have been reflecting upon the on-going transformation, we wanted to make sure we reported on this recent "blast From the Past" as one of the leading intellectuals of our time, Tariq Ali, noted why Trump won:  




As the political upheaval in Washington and beyond is continuing, some key challenges are before us. The future is automated--and we seem not to have an answer, yet as underscored by the reality laid out in this snapshot courtesy of the team at +Wefunder:  

45% of U.S. Jobs could be automated in the next 20 years "First, computers will start replacing people in especially vulnerable fields like transportation/logistics, production labor, and administrative support. Jobs in services, sales, and construction may also be lost in this first stage."

3 MINUTES OF TECH: AUTOMATED JOBS The Future is Automated—Here's the Breakdown Workplace automation is inevitable and approaching faster than we may have expected. But as Bill Gates noted in a recent interview, it's important we figure how it's coming, how fast, and how do we prevent it from throwing the world out of whack. Here are three key issues to keep in mind when discussing job automation: 1. Automation Will Unbalance Blue Collar Jobs First (and Fast) The U.S. has lost 5 million jobs in manufacturing since 2000—and it's not just because we're sending jobs overseas. More and more, automation is becoming the primary reason behind job loss. The most visible loss will be in transportation. Over 1 million Americans get behind the wheel to drive trucks cross-country. Another million or so drive Ubers, taxis, and buses. 2. Middle Class Jobs Are Also in Danger Stephen Hawking said it best: "the rise of artificial intelligence is likely to extend this job destruction deep into the middle classes, with only the most caring, creative or supervisory roles remaining." For instance, there are already software programs that can research and surface documents faster than any paralegal—making a 20-person team effort into single-person job. 3. Taxing Robots? Earlier this week, Bill Gates had the tech community a-buzz by suggesting the government should tax robots. He argues a robot tax would slow a potentially disastrous displacement of workers. The U.S. could then also finance valuable ventures such as training displaced workers, taking care of the elderly, and having smaller class sizes. In essence, having the automation tax fuel empathy-driven jobs robots could never take over.

On the Dawn of A New Week.....

What we picked up from +Jonathan Huie is paramount that is ever more important now: :

Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.

- Harvey Milk

Lend your voices only to sounds of freedom,

no longer lend your strength to that

which you wish to be free from.

Fill your life with love and bravery,

and you shall live a life uncommon.

- Jewel

Never be bullied into silence.

Never allow yourself to be made a victim.

Accept no one's definition of your life;

define yourself.

- Harvey Fierstein

Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind -

even if your voice shakes.

- Maggie Kuhn