--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tech-driven economy leads to a…" description: "\"The tech-driven economy leads to a two-tier job market where workers are either critical or 'commodity.' This divisive 'winner-take-all' mentality hurt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/tom-steyer-6110_economic-inequality_the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-t_365206.jpg" --- # The tech-driven economy leads to a two-tier job market… ![“The tech-driven economy leads to a two-tier job market where workers are either critical or 'commodity.' This divisive 'winner-take-all' mentality hurts most Americans and worsens economic inequality.” quote by Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/tom-steyer-6110_economic-inequality_the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-t_365206.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/tom-steyer-6110_economic-inequality_the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-t_365206.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/tom-steyer-6110_economic-inequality_the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-t_365206.jpg) > “The tech-driven economy leads to a two-tier job market where workers are either critical or 'commodity.' This divisive 'winner-take-all' mentality hurts most Americans and worsens economic inequality.” [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technology creates a split labor market, labeling many workers as replaceable and widening inequality. **In simple terms:** Tech splits jobs into critical and replaceable. Key Takeaway Advocate policies that value all workers. Themes economy technology inequality labor market Mood concerned optimistic Type policy economic When to use this quote - policy making - career counseling - education reform Key Concepts automation winner‑take‑all dynamics human capital Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect vulnerable workers? - What roles can technology play positively? A Different Perspective The market may adapt without policy intervention. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commodity Divisive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodity-divisive-3344469/) [Driven Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven-economy-3203313/) [Economic inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-inequality/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurts/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) [Job Market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-market-841028/) [Market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/market/) [Worsens Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worsens-economic-3344470/) ## Related quotes > [In a knowledge-driven economy, talk is real work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-h-davenport/in-a-knowledge-driven-economy-talk-is-real-work/) [Thomas H. Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-h-davenport/) > [Yes, I think India's economy always has been a mixed economy, and by Western standards we are much more of a market economy than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/yes-i-think-india-s-economy-always-has-been-a-mixed-economy-and-by/) [Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/) > [You have to motivate people to take almost certain failure to get a small amount of success, which has driven our economy forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-conard/you-have-to-motivate-people-to-take-almost-certain-failure-to-get-a/) [Edward Conard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-conard/) > [In today's information-driven economy, business and scientific talent constrains growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-conard/in-today-s-information-driven-economy-business-and-scientific-talent/) [Edward Conard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-conard/) > [“Americans were happy to celebrate their super-rich and, at least sometimes, worry about their poor. But putting those two conversations together and talking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/americans-were-happy-to-celebrate-their-super-rich-and-at-least/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [The devastation of neoliberalism is so multi-fold, whether it's violence against women or desperate economic inequality or the destruction of the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-devastation-of-neoliberalism-is-so-multi-fold-whether-it-s/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [If we will not endure a king as a political power, we should not endure a king over the production, transportation, and sale of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sherman/if-we-will-not-endure-a-king-as-a-political-power-we-should-not/) [John Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sherman/) > [“On average, the real incomes of middle-class families have grown twice as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans, while the real incomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-m-bartels/on-average-the-real-incomes-of-middle-class-families-have-grown-twice/) [Larry M. Bartels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-m-bartels/) > [God, how patient are Thy poor! These corporations and masters of manipulation in finance heaping up great fortunes by a system of legalized extortion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-how-patient-are-thy-poor-these-corporations-and-masters-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Solving the population problem is not going to solve the problems of racism, of sexism, of religious intolerance, of war, of gross economic inequality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/solving-the-population-problem-is-not-going-to-solve-the-problems-of/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [Every dollar that the boss did not work for, one of us worked for a dollar and didn't get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-dudley/every-dollar-that-the-boss-did-not-work-for-one-of-us-worked-for-a/) [William C. Dudley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-dudley/) > [Grave security concerns can arise as a result of demographic trends, chronic poverty, economic inequality, environmental degradation, pandemic diseases, organized crime, repressive governance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/grave-security-concerns-can-arise-as-a-result-of-demographic-trends/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [A society that gives to one class all the opportunities for leisure, and to another all the burdens of work, dooms both classes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/a-society-that-gives-to-one-class-all-the-opportunities-for-leisure/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [“The economic consequences of these policies have been the same just about everywhere, and exactly what one would expect: a massive increase in social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-economic-consequences-of-these-policies-have-been-the-same-just/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The essential point here is that all people with small, insecure incomes are in the same boat and ought to be fighting on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-essential-point-here-is-that-all-people-with-small-insecure/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Tom Steyer > [The American people know that climate change is the kind of problem only America can solve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-american-people-know-that-climate-change-is-the-kind-of-problem/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [The more we allow Republicans to concentrate the lion's share of wealth in the hands of a few, the more power these wealthy few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-more-we-allow-republicans-to-concentrate-the-lion-s-share-of/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [I think I understand the relationships between different people within the company: people who are straightforward employees, people who can impact the bottom line,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/i-think-i-understand-the-relationships-between-different-people/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [Trump's vitriol attracts large crowds and may even win him the Republican presidential nomination but dishonors our best traditions. It spits in the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/trump-s-vitriol-attracts-large-crowds-and-may-even-win-him-the/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [I've always said that climate change is the defining issue of our generation. I've set out to hold candidates and elected officials accountable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/i-ve-always-said-that-climate-change-is-the-defining-issue-of-our/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [Donald Trump may be unusually flamboyant, but his views are all too representative of the party that is about to nominate him for president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/donald-trump-may-be-unusually-flamboyant-but-his-views-are-all-too/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [In American politics, the deepest rivalry is between the rational world and the right wing of the GOP, who are increasingly marginalized in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/in-american-politics-the-deepest-rivalry-is-between-the-rational/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [On the path to a low-carbon, clean-energy future, we need cleaner, non-intermittent sources of power that will allow us to keep the lights on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/on-the-path-to-a-low-carbon-clean-energy-future-we-need-cleaner-non/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [I founded NextGen Climate with a clear mission in mind: to act politically to prevent climate disaster and preserve American prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/i-founded-nextgen-climate-with-a-clear-mission-in-mind-to-act/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [Since the Reagan era, Republicans have prescribed cuts for rich people and corporations as a cure-all. But every time they put their theory into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/since-the-reagan-era-republicans-have-prescribed-cuts-for-rich-people/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [The fact of the matter is, people care about their own human interests: the people they love, their families, and their communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-people-care-about-their-own-human-interests/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [We need to ask elected officials supporting Keystone XL whether they're willing to put their constituents and our environment at risk so that foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/we-need-to-ask-elected-officials-supporting-keystone-xl-whether-they/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [I am passionate about preserving the rights and opportunities of current and future Americans. That has meant fighting to stop global warming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/i-am-passionate-about-preserving-the-rights-and-opportunities-of/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [We can't double down on the failed energy policies of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/we-can-t-double-down-on-the-failed-energy-policies-of-the-past/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [What Bernie Sanders is talking about, which is trying to get back to a more perfect democracy, is something that we support, too. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/what-bernie-sanders-is-talking-about-which-is-trying-to-get-back-to-a/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) [Explore all 100 Tom Steyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) ## More Economic inequality quotes > [“The rich run a global system that allows them to accumulate capital and pay the lowest possible price for labour. The freedom that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-moore/the-rich-run-a-global-system-that-allows-them-to-accumulate-capital/) [Charles Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-moore/) > [The essential point here is that all people with small, insecure incomes are in the same boat and ought to be fighting on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-essential-point-here-is-that-all-people-with-small-insecure/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The economic consequences of these policies have been the same just about everywhere, and exactly what one would expect: a massive increase in social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-economic-consequences-of-these-policies-have-been-the-same-just/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Conant was concerned that the “particular functions” that might be assigned to young people would be dictated by the economic conditions of their families,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-roth/conant-was-concerned-that-the-particular-functions-that-might-be/) [Michael S. Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-roth/) > [A society that gives to one class all the opportunities for leisure, and to another all the burdens of work, dooms both classes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/a-society-that-gives-to-one-class-all-the-opportunities-for-leisure/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [Grave security concerns can arise as a result of demographic trends, chronic poverty, economic inequality, environmental degradation, pandemic diseases, organized crime, repressive governance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/grave-security-concerns-can-arise-as-a-result-of-demographic-trends/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [“… our nation's truly critical problems are built into the very structure of the economic and political system; they are not something passing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gar-alperovitz/our-nation-s-truly-critical-problems-are-built-into-the-very/) [Gar Alperovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gar-alperovitz/) > [The closer we get to achieving equality of opportunity between the sexes, the more clearly we can see that the next major obstacle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/the-closer-we-get-to-achieving-equality-of-opportunity-between-the/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Our cause is a common one. It is war between poverty and wealth. ... This moneyed power is fast eating up the substance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-sylvis/our-cause-is-a-common-one-it-is-war-between-poverty-and-wealth-this/) [William H. Sylvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-sylvis/) > [Every dollar that the boss did not work for, one of us worked for a dollar and didn't get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-dudley/every-dollar-that-the-boss-did-not-work-for-one-of-us-worked-for-a/) [William C. Dudley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-dudley/) > [Man must choose whether to be rich in things or in the freedom to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/man-must-choose-whether-to-be-rich-in-things-or-in-the-freedom-to-use/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [“We also need to understand that white supremacy is at the heart of the problem—not just a racially associated economic inequality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-bond/we-also-need-to-understand-that-white-supremacy-is-at-the-heart-of/) [Becky Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-bond/) > [Solving the population problem is not going to solve the problems of racism, of sexism, of religious intolerance, of war, of gross economic inequality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/solving-the-population-problem-is-not-going-to-solve-the-problems-of/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [God, how patient are Thy poor! These corporations and masters of manipulation in finance heaping up great fortunes by a system of legalized extortion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-how-patient-are-thy-poor-these-corporations-and-masters-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“On average, the real incomes of middle-class families have grown twice as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans, while the real incomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-m-bartels/on-average-the-real-incomes-of-middle-class-families-have-grown-twice/) [Larry M. Bartels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-m-bartels/) [Browse all 108 Economic inequality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-inequality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The tech-driven economy leads to a two-tier job market where workers are either critical or 'commodity.' This divisive 'winner-take-all' mentality hurts most Americans and worsens economic inequality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Steyer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-tier-job-market-where-workers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economic inequality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-tier-job-market-where-workers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/tom-steyer-6110_economic-inequality_the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-t_365206.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/tom-steyer-6110_economic-inequality_the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-t_365206.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e02/tom-steyer-6110_economic-inequality_the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-t_365206.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The tech-driven economy leads to a two-tier job market where workers are either critical or 'commodity.'…” — Tom Steyer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Steyer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The tech-driven economy leads to a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-tier-job-market-where-workers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-tech-driven-economy-leads-to-a-two-tier-job-market-where-workers/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```