Carl's Jr. CEO wants to try and create a workerless automated restaurant

Monday, March 28, 2016 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: Carl''s Jr, automated restaurant, living wages

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(NaturalNews) Carl's Jr. CEO Andy Puzder recently drew ire on the internet when he advocated that his company try and create a workerless, automated restaurant.

"We could have a restaurant that's focused on all-natural products and is much like an Eatsa, where you order on a kiosk, you pay with a credit or debit card, your order pops up, and you never see a person," Puzder said, speaking to Business Insider.

Puzder says the automated restaurant would be insulated from the negative economic effect of inflation that rising minimum wages have on the cost of food. The jobs that unskilled workers refuse to do for little pay could be filled by robots that don't complain, that come to work on time and that never need a vacation or sick day.

"If you're making labor more expensive, and automation less expensive — this is not rocket science," Puzder said.

"They're always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex, or race discrimination case," said Puzder, valuing robots over people.

"Millennials like not seeing people. I've been inside restaurants where we've installed ordering kiosks... and I've actually seen young people waiting in line to use the kiosk where there's a person standing behind the counter, waiting on nobody."

What a $15 minimum wage would do to the economy

A growing number of US citizens are tired of living paycheck to paycheck and are now demanding that the federal minimum wage be more than doubled. Disgruntled, unskilled American workers all over the country are complaining that $7.25 an hour is not enough to support the lifestyles they want. The pressure is on to get the federal government to force private businesses to pay everyone at least a "living wage" of $15 an hour.

Feeling the pressure of workers' demands, business CEOs have a few options. Businesses could raise the prices of their goods and services so they can pay their workers more. However, the inflated cost of goods and services across the board inevitably gets passed on to the workers as it affects the entire economy, raising the cost of living for workers yet again, making their newfound "living wage" of $15 an hour worthless in the long run.

Businesses can also offer their employees' opportunities to earn more, but not all businesses are in the position to offer employees opportunities for advancement because of the nature of the work. Some jobs require little or no skill and can be filled by anyone appreciative enough to take the position and do the job right for the agreed-upon wage.

Businesses could also lower the wages of those making over $15 an hour to make room for those who have demanded they be paid more. However, this would take incentive away from workers who strive to do better and earn more. People with more skills, better time management, higher efficiency and better work ethic would ultimately be punished as the minimum wage creates the conditions for perpetual poverty control. Over time, these wage–price controls become a sort of intellectual slavery, suppressing the will and drive of the once ambitious worker. Over time, the people begin to demand their way forward instead of earning their way forward.

The idea of a minimum wage may help prevent businesses from abusing workers as effective slave labor, but a $15-an-hour minimum wage has the potential to run most companies dry, destroying the jobs that the businesses created to help people in the first place. If the higher wages being demanded by unskilled workers outweigh the ability of businesses to operate, then the businesses will ultimately fold up, leaving a decimated economy that can no longer afford to innovate through the will of the people. With the collapse of the free market, wealth and opportunity then gets concentrated into the hands of billionaires, exacerbating wealth inequality and a widening the divide between rich and poor.

If the demands become so great, businesses could find an alternative way to continue operating by eliminating their need for human workers altogether.

In the technology era, businesses survive by replacing costly human labor with computers and robots. Carl's Jr. CEO Andy Puzder isn't the first and won't be the last businessman to advocate that whiny, overpaid employees get out of the way and make room for a future of robots.

Sources include:

BusinessInsider.com

KFOR.com

Science.NaturalNews.com