Wine Infused Coffee

21 Replies

I just found out I can combine two of my favorite beverages, wine and coffee. I received an email advertising wine-infused coffee beans. I think I will need a large glass or mug of it after reading another article about Universal Basic Income and robots ( taking over jobs). These robots are very pushy and seem to want to take over as quickly as possible according to the article. And the only thing holding them back is the bad PR. The public might not like to see so many jobs taken over by machines, because if their jobs were taken over by robots, they would not be able to make a living. Then they would not have money to survive and buy the products that the robots were making. The author claimed that all this could be easily remedied by Universal Basic Income. Everyone should be given a basic income to survive. Then we wouldn’t care about the robots. I’ll take my large mug of wine-infused coffee now.

Wine Infused Coffee

I am so glad we decided to getaway this weekend. Carmel is one of my favorite places to visit. I love wandering around the village and looking at all the interesting shops and galleries. Just as we turned the corner we spotted this vine covered cottage with a bright blue door. I don’t recall seeing this place the last time we were here, and it looks like it has been here for a long time. We decided to investigate and tried the door. It opened into a small shop. It was filled with a wonderful selection of wines. As we browsed the displays we came across something unusual. There were little packages of whole coffee beans but they were different. The label said the coffee beans were infused with wine. As we looked over the display, the shopkeeper, an older woman, quietly approached us. We were surprised to see a human working in the shop. It had been 50 years since the Total Automation had occurred. We thought humans had been banned from all work. The shopkeepers saw our looks of confusion.

“I am one of The Olders,” she said, “We continue to work in small corners of the world.”

“But your income is provided for with UBI, is it not?”

“We believe that humans have a need to work and we will never give that up.”

We hurried out of the shop. To buy anything made or sold by humans was against the law and punishable by prison.

This is my contribution to Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers hosted by Priceless Joy.

 

 

21 thoughts on “Wine Infused Coffee”

  5. Priceless Joy

    Love your spin to the prompt, Deborah. Very creative and unusal. It is a frightening thought to think humans working would be illegal and everyone has to depend on UBI. Not only do we need to make a living but there is also a sense of accomplishment when we work. Wonderful story!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. Deborah Drucker Post author

      Thanks Joy. What I have read claims that the robots will start off taking the low paying jobs, jobs below $20 per hour. This will throw more people out of work. And people do have to survive even on lower paying jobs. But I think that the people who want the robots to take over jobs will not stop there, because eventually they could be doing more and more. Thank You. ❤

      Like

      Reply ↓
      2. Deborah Drucker Post author

        Well that is what might save us, is that people would protest about robots in restaurants and so on. Especially these robots that look like machines. But now robots are being developed that look more like humans. The reason businesses like the idea of robots is you don’t have to worry about paying them benefits, family or sick leave. The robot will not ask for better wages or working hours. 😦

        Like

      4. Deborah Drucker Post author

        I hope not too. But it has already started. The trouble is there are fewer people needed to run the machines. I think our government needs to get in front of this with new policies to help people, if people are going to be displaced or need to prepare for other types of work. There is a real discussion about UBI, I did not make that up. These changes are happening fast. It is mind boggling. 🙂

        Like

  6. luckyjc007

    Technology has been used to expand one’s life in many ways, but it is such a frightening thought to have robots take over human’s jobs. We may say that is can not be possible…but isn’t that what we said about a lot of things? I just wonder how humans can provide for their families if they do not work and receive money to spend on the necessities of life. The government does not have or will not have money to take care of everyone…after all, the government money is the people’s money. Great thought provoking story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

Comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.