# The automation apocalypse is the existential event — not Trump (Part 1 of 2) Date: 2026-04-22 Next Part: https://disrael.github.io/blogs/raw/the-automation-apocalypse-is-the-existential-event-not-trump.part2.md --- --- ### The automation apocalypse is the existential event — not Trump Not to excuse the fascists and religious zealots that are destroying the country, but there might be a reason they are against science and logic. ![Numbers are AI generated and for very rough estimate only](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/assets/the-automation-apocalypse-is-the-existential-event-not-trump-c391acca66.png) *Numbers are AI generated and for very rough estimate only* #### Three points about the over 40 million Americans at risk of losing their jobs to automation 1. The future is bleak but so is the recent past * Peace dividend after the end of the Cold War threatened soldiers and only very unpopular US military involvement since then * “Free” trade / outsourcing and broken unions * Even defund the police part of pressure on manual labor 2. Massive inequality compared to more educated labor and cost of education and health care are dramatically increasing 3. Zero representation in government * Even a Mamdani, AOC, or Sanders do not have policies that restore a manual labor worker to dignity. Free tuition and health care would help but you still need food, shelter, and a college that let’s you in. Plus as discussed below everyone having a degree doesn’t automatically increase demand for those degrees. * George W. Bush and Donald Trump are rich nepo babies who don’t help blue collar regardless of limiting their vocabulary or wearing a cowboy hat. Reducing immigration at best just keeps the situation from getting worse. Restoring manufacturing isn’t happening and only helps if the factories are not automated. These are not cures for manual labor. * What is representation? Regulating automation technologies like Waymo? Hopefully something better than encouraging blue collar workers to join the downstairs of an upstairs / downstairs economy. In 2024, non-college whites favored Trump by a 66% to 32% margin. While April 2026 polling from Fox News shows this support has softened to 49% approval, they remain the load-bearing pillar of his coalition. For which Trump makes a big deal about no tax on tips and no tax on overtime but there is also no increase in minimum wage. ![Polling for Trump by at risk of automation labor examples](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/assets/the-automation-apocalypse-is-the-existential-event-not-trump-d2bedfc750.png) *Polling for Trump by at risk of automation labor examples* #### The divide in America will only get worse after the next election Even supposing that Americans, like Hungarians, realize that dictators are bad there will be ever increasing pressure on high risk of automation jobs. These jobs cannot be offset by an increase in college education jobs because people in the low education pool cannot get the new jobs. **It’s effectively a caste system.** ![Image](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/assets/the-automation-apocalypse-is-the-existential-event-not-trump-11de196d56.jpeg) ![Image](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/assets/the-automation-apocalypse-is-the-existential-event-not-trump-82c35fff7e.png) #### More education is not always the answer Key aspects of PhD labor conditions in Korea: * Manual Labor in Labs: Many doctoral candidates report being used by professors for research farms, machinery operation, and personal tasks. The academic culture often allows for extreme working hours (8 am to 11 pm or midnight) and requires high loyalty to supervisors. * Low-Wage Trap: With a **record high of nearly 20,000 new doctorates in 2025**, the market is over-saturated, leading to high-qualified individuals taking low-wage positions. * Shift to Skilled Manual Work: Some reports suggest shifting to technical, high-paying manual trades (e.g., plumbing, construction, electrical work) as a more viable alternative to underpaid academic positions, as these fields face labor shortages. If it can happen there it can happen in America also. Furthermore it is the sense of zero sum game, and not one’s relative wealth, that is the largest [contributing factor](https://www.reddit.com/r/SocialDemocracy/comments/1ltwrwf/analysis_of_fascism_in_south_korea_richer_and/) to Korean fascism: > This shift toward the far-right among young Koreans is not driven by marginalization or rising inequality. Rather, it is a reaction from privileged youth — those resisting what they perceive as a loss of their advantage. In fact, over the past decade, inequality indicators like the Gini coefficient have improved in Korea. The significance of educational pedigree has also declined. In the past, elite men from top universities in Seoul could expect good jobs without much trouble. Today, they must compete with women in the labor market. While men still earn more on average, women’s income growth has outpaced that of men over the same period. **The pace of job creation hasn’t kept up with the level of competition**, leading those who were previously better off to feel like their opportunities are shrinking in a “zero-sum game.” #### How long do we have before the end of manual labor? It somewhat doesn’t matter. The point is that blue collar workers believe, rightly, that things are bad and will only get worse for their way of life. They believe that they are playing a zero sum game where the only way forward is to beat out immigrants or women or other races. [**Fast-growing occupations that pay well and don't require a college degree** *Are you looking for a career with potential? Here are some options that don't require a degree.*www.bls.gov](https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2022/article/occupations-that-dont-require-a-degree.htm "https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2022/article/occupations-that-dont-require-a-degree.htm") In 2022 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics posted the above website that recommends looking into jobs like industrial and heavy machinery mechanic and message therapist. However they list the former as paying under $60K and the latter as paying under $50K. Those are skilled jobs but in 1968 a non-skilled, unionized automotive factory workers (UAW) made around $62K in today’s dollars. Could a heavy machinery mechanic or massage therapist unionize? Well there is the [**International Union of Operating Engineers | Washington DC** *IUOE provides skilled, safe and efficient heavy equipment operators and stationary engineers.*www.iuoe.org](https://www.iuoe.org/ "https://www.iuoe.org/") which has over 400K members in the US and Canada. Biden also had an executive order [**Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects** *Search, browse and learn about the Federal Register. Federal Register 2.0 is the unofficial daily publication for…*www.federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/09/2022-02869/use-of-project-labor-agreements-for-federal-construction-projects "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/09/2022-02869/use-of-project-labor-agreements-for-federal-construction-projects") which has so far mostly shakily held up under Trump. However in general Trump and MAGA have been terrible for unions. MAGA considers the union bosses as the enemy and so let’s Trump get away with appointing anti union judges and a host of other anti union policies. Can a union protect massage therapists against an AI driven, fully automated massage bed? [**Book a Personalized Massage Near You** *Searching for the best massage nearby? Aescape makes it easy to book a personalized massage experience that's…*www.aescape.com](https://www.aescape.com/ "https://www.aescape.com/") Can the International Union of Operating Engineers protect a mechanic against AI high precision robotic arms? [**Ruby.AI Robotic Technologies** *RubyAI develop Intelligent Robots for Real-World Operations. Physical AI brings artificial intelligence into the real…*www.rubyai.me](https://www.rubyai.me/ "https://www.rubyai.me/") --- **[Continue reading Part 2 of 2](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/raw/the-automation-apocalypse-is-the-existential-event-not-trump.part2.md)**