Thread: Detroit Now & Then: Loss of Industry

There will be a slide show like that for the whole of Australia soon enough.
Cheers Hall

Amazing that such a metropolis can be reduced so quickly

Originally Posted by Tombie

Amazing that such a metropolis can be reduced so quickly

Signs of the times. That Detroit link is very interesting.
Fast forward to 2040 or something... how many human jobs will the new workforce hoover up?

robots do not have an unemployment rate. They may have a scrap rate.
robots have no workplace agreement or awards or penalties or super plan.
robots do not need suburban dormitory suburbs, schools, supermarkets, plumbers or sewers or dams, home furnishings, new shoes, criminal justice system, sporting and rec facilities etc.
robots can be re-leased or re-located to a new premises or plants built in more profitable locations and there are no passports or family issues to deal with. well, maybe some quarantine. maybe.

robots have no community and leave no trace or heritage when they time out and reach reach decrepitude.

robots pay no tax or rates, need no government (local, state or federal).

robots = plague?

I find it rather sad. I wonder how many current Detroit residents look at those buildings and ever know just how great they were.

Australian manufacturing / fabrication is adopting robotics in a big way- probably one of the ways we can combat labour rates from offshoring.
Years past there would be a workshop with scores of blokes welding, these days, a robot can work around the clock (or be setup by a bloke who goes home, to find most of the work done in the morning when he returns).

Detroit would be a great place to visit- even now IMO. I'd probably be at risk of getting shot, but even still, there is plenty of history there.
Johnny Knoxville did a short documentary on detroit called "detroit lives". Interesting watch if anyone is interested.

I'd say the best thing to come out of Detroit would be Mr Berry Gordy Jnr.
From humble beginnings and borrowing $800 to start his record label, I'd say in 1966 -7-8 he probably
owned the number one company in the world. He later sold his interests in the company for $61 million, Polygram paid $330 million for the motown catalogue.
He's also a fluent songwriter and has more than 240 songs to his name. It's quite an achievement when you think that he was a baby when Capitol and Columbia records were going, to grow up and surpass them really is special.

I don't find it sad,they built crap cars that nobody wanted and went broke,tough.Land Rover is proof that no matter how bad things get if you get off your arse and design/build vehicles people do want you survive and prosper,I find it ironic that Ford UK have built some of the best vehicles anywhere in the world and are going from strength to strength yet Ford Oz and Ford USA are nowhere,quality counts when it comes to customers. Pat