> i believe this began with self-service markets, doing away with clerks
> and relying on customers to find items themselves... followed closely
> by
> self-service gasoline stations, where you pump your own...this replaced
> tons of workers, and the goods dealt with by "self" were not only the
> same price, but usually more expensive in the bargain ...
I think this can be argued various ways. Of course, all these moves eliminate some low-wage jobs, but I'm not enough of an economist to judge the economic effects. Personally, I prefer ATMs and self-service gas stations, etc., because they save me time -- I can usually get my money and gas a lot faster than the employees did -- and don't really cost me much "labor." (I still go to a teller to make deposits, because I don't quite trust the machines to get my deposits into the account.)
The rise in prices has to do with the general inflation in the economy, I think.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ Had I been present at the Creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe. -- Attr. to Alfonso the Wise, King of Castile