End of the Machine Age?

The illegal influx of immigrants over the US border may have yet another drawback for society.
It reduces the need for innovation.
Why build a new labor saving device when labor is so cheap? Used to be that production lines became automated because robotic devices were cheaper than union laborers, what with medical and dental plans, retirement and compensation packages, and ever increasing salaries. Mechanisms that didn't require vacations and coffee breaks looked good back then.
Today, humans from Asia, Mexico, and South America, willing to work 18 hour days for spare change, are by far the better deal. The automated assembly line is passe.

So is innovation. You can't sell a better way of doing things anymore unless it is somehow cheaper and more cost efficient. What could be more efficient than a self-motivated, self-correcting, self-repairing upgradable multi-function work unit, especially one that doesn't and never will have a union?

On the other hand, countries like China do have a reason to develop technology, as their industry develops. With all of America's current developments, from CDs to robotics, at their disposal, they may yet be the culture to develop the house robot and the totally automated factory.

It's no wonder President Bush came out in defense of illegals. It's a dream come true for CEOs.
True, it may cost America its technological lead in the long run, but hey - our generation will all be dead by then, right?