By Trish Regan
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THE RISING MINIMUM-WAGE DEBATE
That day, there were only a handful of fully staffed checkout lanes. What happened? The threat of a higher minimum wage happened... And, if the Democrats get their way, automation at everything from grocery stores to McDonald’s will be the future sooner than you think. I scanned my items, bagged my groceries, and off I went just as the snow flurries began coming down.
As another winter storm barreled toward my New England town last month, I rushed to my local grocery store to load up on last- minute essentials. There’s something about the threat of a storm that always has me stocking up. And I’m not the only one... It seemed my entire town had made its pilgrimage to our big-box grocery chain that day, with everyone’s carts loaded to the brim. As I searched for an open checkout lane, I was struck by something... There was no one even working at the checkout counters. No cashiers, no baggers – almost every single line was a self-checkout. This labor-less reality is relatively new. Granted, I don’t always shop at this particular store, but I’d been there a month or two earlier and at that time, there were only a handful of self-checkout lines.
If the Democrats get their way, automation at everything from grocery stores to McDonald’s will be the future sooner than you think.
American Consequences
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