It might be of interest to know that China is going through a bad spell with job losses just as we are here in the United States. Perhaps, in part, for the same reason: robots.

I just read a short article in “The Week” magazine by New York Times writer Martin Ford. It said that China will eliminate 20 percent to 70 percent of its workforce in certain industries. These already low-paid workers will be replaced by even cheaper workers: robots. This will create a problem for China’s soaring population of college graduates. There are just no jobs for them or many others, for that matter.

One such Chinese company, Foxconn, will affect our U.S. economy directly in that it makes products for Apple and Microsoft — American-controlled companies.

Might I suggest that we can find a solution. Since millions of people will be without jobs, being laid off because of robot labor, why don’t we just give money to the robots? Laid off and jobless workers have no money to buy anything at all. If the robots have money, they can buy the products that they make, and then profits by corporate owners of the factories will not be lost. The money will still circulate and corporatism will be saved.

Of course, this will not help the people laid off, but that’s not a problem since the corporations already don’t care what happens to them anyway.

Pete P. Sirois

Madison