Labor

As Trump gets ready to renegotiate NAFTA and impose tariffs on companies looking to outsource production to Mexico, a new study from MIT and Boston University suggests that industrial robots, not Mexico, may be the bigger factor contributing to the high levels on unemployment in the Midwest. 

Entitled "Robots and Jobs: Evidence From US Labor Markets," the authors of the study found that the addition of 1 robot per 1,000 workers results in an 18-35 bps reduction in the employment-to-population ratio and 25-50bps reduction in wages.  Per Bloomberg:

Authored by John Mauldin via MauldinEconomics.com,

Angst is “a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity.” Many of us feel it acutely right now—and that’s new. Angst isn’t a temporary, individual thing anymore. Now we all feel it together—or at least most of us do—and it’s not at all temporary.

Paul Ryan and GOP leaders are holding a press conference to discuss next steps in the aftermath of Friday's failure to repeal Obamacare, and as CBS reports, among other discussion topics, the GOP is currently contemplating ways to revive the repeal of Obamacare, with CNN adding that Ryan may potentially re-engage the Freedom Caucus.

In the latest installment of our "Dear Bernie" series, posts intended to inform the Vermont Senator about the unintended, negative consequences of minimum wage hikes, we present SAM (Semi-Automated Mason), a brick laying robot designed and engineered by Construction Robotics out of New York.  While SAM can do the work of 6 unionized masons each day, he never requires a break, benefits or a paycheck.

Here's a look at SAM in action:

Authored by Mark Glennon via WirePoints.com,