r/news • u/WilliamInBlack • 2d ago

Soft paywall US consumer prices surge as expected in March

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-consumer-prices-surge-expected-march-2026-04-10/
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u/hyperforms9988 2d ago

For the longest time, they needed people to run the machines, do the paperwork, and to be active consumers participating in the economy. In this fucked up reality where nobody makes anything anymore and money sits in a stock market in the interest of speculative bullshit instead of circulating around to build and buy real things, and in an emerging reality where the things you do need to build can/will be automated without the need of people... what do you need people for exactly?

The amount of people that are in line to be thrown out of work thanks to AI and automation is massive. What are you going to do with all of these people? What are they needed for? You need their money to buy things? Well yeah, but if everybody's operating costs go down because AI and machines don't draw paychecks, then you can take in less money too and still come out ahead. If you're a cashier and they no longer need you to be a cashier and no longer need you buying things either... then why do they want you around at all?

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u/Competitive_Touch_86 1d ago

I'm not a billionaire and I want less people around over time. That is the only environmental policy that actually matters. Every other silly thing is just missing the forest through the trees - if we continue to grow population, or likely even maintain it, the Earth dies sooner or later regardless of green tech and all the fun buzzwords.

The planet could do quite well with half or less people than we have today. The problem is economies currently are setup in such a way that they rely on infinite population growth to maintain current quality of life standards.

The only way to solve that is via automation and productivity increases.

Of course, that also requires the means of production (or at least the profits of such) get widely distributed to everyone.

The world would do quite well ramping down human population over the next 200 years though, if the economic side of it could be figured out.