Jobs have been automated before since the beginnings of humanity, there is nothing really different this time. When the crisis of '30s hit, the U.S. government stepped in and employed the jobless en masse for infrastructure projects on national level. Problems to absorb large amounts of manpower exist, they are only waiting to be subsidized. I'm not saying that something handicapping as penalty for the automation gained efficiency could not occur, it's just unlikely for a rational mind to recourse to that.