Appliances and Tech

1. Why was cash significant to the growth of the American economy? What role did it play in the evolution of work and jobs? Why have Americans traditionally been so interested in labor-saving gadgets? At least 75 words.

Cash was important for the growth of the American economy as capital is needed to acquire the raw resources and labor to produce a good. America is rich is mineral resources and fertile farmland, lots of capital ensures that corporations and other large institutions can purchase these commodities and pay skilled (and unskilled) laborers to refine these into sellable products. Since there was such a large amount of capital shifting hands, businesses were able to hire more workers to produce more goods; this in turn allowed more people the buying power to purchase the goods leading to more capital for the large institutions, creating a growth paradigm.

I feel as though Americans are all about labor saving goods as they typically decrease the price of goods overall. Every minute saved is potentially a minute a company does not have to pay a worker. As more and more workers are not needed in the production of goods or rendering of services, the cheaper the good becomes and the more profit one can make on the good/service. We see it everyday in the Mcdonalds $1 menu to Walmart prices. Many would argue every minute saved is a minute a worker gets to spend with his/her family but workers wages have decreased along with benefits. Unless you work a fancy Tech job or inherited a fortune from your family, you will not see those profits or savings.

2. Give three examples of failed technologies and social arrangements from the past. Do you think that they were good ideas? Would you have purchased or used them? Why or why not? At least 75 words.

Failed technologies.... Microsoft as a whole comes to mind. They dominated the market through bad, extremely cut-throat business practices in the 90's but have remain impotent in the cloud/mobile age; even...