The Technology Isn’t a Job Killer

choi

Tamar Jacoby, The Technology Isn’t a Job Killer; Many predicted ATMs would eliminate bank tellers, but the number of tellers in the US has risen since the machines were introduced. Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2015.
www.wsj.com/articles/technology-isnt-a-job-killer-1432161213
(book review on James Bessen, Learning by Doing; The real connection between innovation, wages, and wealth. Yale University Press, 2015)

Quote:

"Another job category that has grown rather than shrunk as a result of technology: licensed practical nurses, or LPNs. Many in the medical profession expected computerized medicine to eliminate LPNs, who were thought to lack the skills needed to run new, sophisticated machines. Instead, developments like lasers and advanced endoscopy made it possible to perform minimally invasive surgery at short-stay clinics, which have multiplied in the past three decades, creating jobs and raising wages for licensed practical nurses.

"He [Bessen] revisits the story of the power loom that Karl Marx made so much of in 'Das Kapital.' 'History discloses no tragedy more horrible than the gradual extinction of the English handloom weavers,' Marx wrote. In fact, Mr Bessen shows, the power loom was the best thing that ever happened to the textile industry and its workers. * * * [after labor and management adapted,] productivity soared, jobs proliferated and eventually wages caught up.

My comment:
(a) I have not read the book, so I do not know what statistics the book supplies to support its arguments.
(b)
(i) LPN has less education, training and salary than RN (registered nurse).
(ii) A LPN has to pass NCLEX-PN, and a RN NCLEX-RN.
(iii) National Council Licensure Examination
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_Licensure_Examination
(There are two types [of examinations], the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN); "NCLEX examinations are developed and owned by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc (NCSBN). The NCSBN administers these examinations on behalf of its member boards which consist of the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four US territories)
(iv) Candidate FAQ. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), undated
www.ncsbn.org/2321.htm
("[Q:] What are the eligibility requirements for taking the NCLEX?  [A:] NCSBN does not maintain a list of eligibility requirements to take the NCLEX. Contact the [state] board of nursing/regulatory body (BON/RB) where you are seeking licensure/registration for their requirements [for both US and internationally educated candidates]")