President Blames Unemployment On Lack Of Tech Skills

IEEE ^

[Florida_Irish]

During a Wednesday morning (July 30th) press conference, President Bush was asked a question about jobs going overseas as a result of technological innovation. His response was:

"I fully understand what you're saying. In other words, as technology races through the economy, a lot of times worker skills don't keep up with technological change."

Many people have taken his response to mean that unemployment in the high-tech sector is the result of American workers who allowed their skills to become obsolete. This is an unacceptable explanation.

[luckydevi]

The solution is not to impose more costs on someone else, the solution is to reduce costs here. Make it cheaper to due business here. Get rid of the government drag on our economy instead of imposing it on someone else That will make our labor more attactive to foreign companies. They will come here instead of us going there. The answer isn't more government regulation it is less government regulation.

[Southack]

"You're so blinded by your attack mode that you can't even deal with the topic being broadened, which happens quite often on FR threads."

Is your new spin now that the topic has simply been "broadened"?!

That's rich!

[clamper1797]

I'm sure the H1-Bs aren't working for a poverty wage since they have to live here too.

Guess again ...

[oceanview]

yeah, 4 families or 4 generations to a house/apartment.

[Southack]

Having trouble coming up with your middle class "shrinking" data?!

[lelio]

the IEEE should have created a forum by which this very important question WOULD be answered by Bush

So until that time (which I would like to hear of some in the past where he answered questions) he can just go on pretending that the economy's fine. Leadership is when you see a problem and head it off at the pass. Its not hoping that no one asks you a question on if offshoreing will mean that millions of college educated people will jobs tomorrow.
I wouldn't be calling Bush out on the carpet if he even once mentioned this in a talk. Or one of his administration officials either. Its like the big elephant in the room that no one wants to address.

[Dane]

Here comes Dane again, jumping into the debate like an epileptic chihuahua. School must have just let out.

Whew a bit defensive aren't you. Oh well I guess this "epileptic chihuahua" noticed that during this thread you could be construed as a Gephardt campaign worker.

BTW, if you are having such hard times, maybe you should send your resume to the Gephardt campaign. Your interview would be cordial one, IMO.

The only problem for you would be that the job will last only the next 6 months, but you can always come back on FR and complain how bad things are again.

[StolarStorm]

I support short term welfare only.
However, I'm a follower of the 'lower taxes and regulations' method to solve the employment problem here in the USA. Can't compete with nations that have little infrastructure costs. H1-bs are just another government handout as well.

[dirtboy]

There are people who are EAGER to criticize Bush for so little as repeating a question back to a reporter, a question that was about people who had been laid off from textile and manufacturing plants and what Bush was doing to help them, that was rapidly misconstrued as Bush not caring about high-tech workers seeing top-paying jobs disappear, by the way.

Dude, he didn't just rephrase it, he said "I completely understand" - the problem any more is not training, it's that the jobs are going away. You can train someone for a year to be a customer support rep with good computer skills to go with it, but if most of the support jobs have been shipped overseas by the time they graduate, what friggin' good does it do? I have NEVER heard Bush say that we should end H1-B visas, L1 visas and come up with ways to make it more attractive for companies to keep jobs here instead of shipping them overseas.

[harpseal]

I do not believe that there is an inherent right to a job. I believe the American Constitution was enacted to protect the people of the United States of America from being preyed upon by foreign powers. i believe taht everyone has a right to sell their skill for teh maximum they can obtain for tehm in the nation where they reside or they may sell them in any nation where they leaglly emigrate. I believe they have a right to negotiate their compensation with those who would buy there skills. I do not believe that the government should have intervened by in these negotiations between employer and employee via the H1b visa program.

I further believe that a tarif policy should be adopted that will guarantee access to foreign markets by means of reciprocal agreements. I recognize that tariffs are Constitutional and should be used to deal with such things as currency manipulations and foreign business subsidies.

Further I recognize that it is necessary for teh USA to encourage some industries essential to our national defense. I believe in Free markets and minimal regulation of business within this nation.

If you are asking me if I believe that everyone should work for their living in a personal sense I do.

[luckydevi]

Part of being a conservative is in the belief of the free market. Welfare is anti-capitalist, not pro-capitalist. Are you sure you are on the right board?

[wesdale]

The name Marxism is not old, but the concept has always existed. Living your life for the collective good of society (as determined by so-called patriots) is nothing new.

I am not defending the status quo. I do not agree with our mixed economy. I do not agree with tax-dollars subsidizing any part of the market or any foreign government.

I simply disagree with you, or anyone else telling others how to run their business. If you do not agree with the hiring policies of the tech industry, do not purchase their products. If you think that someone is unfairly unemployed, give them your job. If you think you can make a quality product by hiring only Americans, then do so. I would never coerce you to make decisions in your life. That's not Marxism, that's freedom. That's American.

[TheSpottedOwl]

The unemployed smart males will be even more dangerous. They are able to organize rebellion. Nothing is more dangerous to a political state than large numbers of pissed off and energized high IQ people.

The recall of Gray Davis is an early symptom of this - that's why the elites are so freaked out by it.

Don't forget the women who are sitting there jobless with kids to support. I'm hoping that a degree in English will get me a job with a living wage and benefits (proof reading and editing-I can already do it, but need a degree). My kids? Their father has proven to be too selfish to put the oldest ones through community college, and I don't know what the 2 at home are going to do for jobs. Guess they'd better learn Spanish...

[oceanview]

even if you cut tax rates to zero, and stripped all worker protections, you cannot equalize the costs of a first world worker with a third world worker, unless you want to totally throw the idea of standard of living out the window. and that of course is the crux of it, our elites don't much like the middle class and their standard of living, since that appears as a "cost" on their balance sheet. those private jets are expensive you know.

[lelio]

we can defeat them with our MRI machines

Provided that we can still send the scans over to be read in India that is.
Also, how is anyone going to be able to pay for their services? Its what I like to call the "We can't all serve expensive coffee to one another" economy.

[Mr. Bird]

But training out-of-work manufacturing workers for tech jobs that are the most likely candidates to be outsourced overseas is definitely NOT one of the possible answers. What this shows is that Bush has given little or no thought to the realities of the modern job market.

I missed that one. When and where did he say we should be training out-of-work manufacturing folks for tech jobs that were most likely to be outsourced? As for your snide comment about fighting with MRI's, who do you think puts the fighting soldier together again? Java programmers? Yeah, the American Techie: keeping us safe from the French for 200 years. One cannot do without the other, my shortsighted friend.

[thackney]

But training out-of-work manufacturing workers for tech jobs

This is not what he said.

we need to make sure that people get the training necessary to keep up with the nature of the jobs, as jobs change

As jobs requirements change, we all need to change to keep up with them or we will get left behind. This usually involves learning about some new technology, but it does not mean moving to a tech-job.

[dirtboy]

I'm doing just fine, Dane. But having been through some tough times last year, I haven't forgotten that there are millions of people still in tough times this year.

BTW, your "[insert Dem presidential candidate] campaign worker" is getting really lame - maybe your mom can help you come up with a new insult to use come August.

[clamper1797]

Report by the Merky News in Sillycon valley last year. H1B's are only here for a short while. They commonly live with other H1B's 10-12 in a house. They are actually preferred to American workers not only for the substandard wages paid them but because the company can force them to work exhaustive hours knowing that the H1B can not complain for fear of losing their sponser (the company) and being sent back home. The companies also know that the H1B CANNOT seek employment elsewhere. H1B's are little better than indentured servents and are treated as such