Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

President Blames Unemployment On Lack Of Tech Skills
IEEE ^

Posted on 07/31/2003 11:53:32 AM PDT by 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.

(Excerpt) Read more at capwiz.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bush43; freetrade; jobs; nwo; outsourcing
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 381-400401-420421-440 ... 701-711 next last
To: Mr. Bird
”No one here is regularly bleating for bigger government in other walks of life. Why do we think they can do a good job here?”

How about this… FOR ONCE…

SCREW THE OTHER GUY AND PASS THE SAVINGS ON TO AMERICANS!

I guess that if we really try we can outsource every office job in the US and import inexpensive labor for every non office job. Then we can all huddle around a trash can fire for warmth while we discuss the virtues of free trade with third world nations.

As far as what Bush said, perhaps it came out wrong or some of us are taking it out of context but the guy should try to be a bit more lucid when talking to the press. To “me” it came off as a slap in the face to all the qualified tech workers in the US who are WILLING TO WORK but cant find jobs.

At the very least Bush's statment is promoting another BIG GOVERNMENT HANDOUT that someone (I’m assuming you and I) will have to pay for. Who knows, maybe all these county colleges can begin teaching Hindi and all our displaced tech workers can spend their days arranging the wire transfer of payroll checks to India.

We are CONSERVATIVES and as such do not want government interference in our lives, but as PRAGMATIC AMERICANS if there has to be government interference somewhere LET IT BE WITH THE PEOPLE OF ANOTHER NATION!

401 posted on 07/31/2003 2:11:03 PM PDT by SouthParkRepublican (SORRY FOR THE RANTING!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 308 | View Replies]

To: wesdale
If your employer can find someone to do your job for less, you need to make yourself more valuable. Life is not fair. The tech industry is growing fast and a valuable skill today does not make your job secure for very long. Learn new skills. Stay ahead of the competition. It always bothers me when people complain about jobs going overseas. You do not have a right to a job because you were born in America.

Great, another know-nothing Republican. Could we pick a different campaign message than yours? If you don't mind, I'd really like to avoid an instant replay of 1992 when this attitude caused people to desert our party by the millions and we got swept right out of power.

402 posted on 07/31/2003 2:11:40 PM PDT by jpl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Florida_Irish
How velly velly compassionate of him.
403 posted on 07/31/2003 2:11:54 PM PDT by MissAmericanPie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wesdale
Nothing wrong with real immigration. H1-Bs are TEMPORARY visas set up to flood the job market with particular skills. You can't send a legal immigrant packing by firing him. You can however force an H1-B back to India, which I understand is a fate worse than death.

The H1-Bs I've worked with would do ANYTHING to keep from going back to India. They would lie on their resumes (common with H1-Bs), work massive uncompensated overtime, accept a lower salary, and are great YES men to insecure managers.

404 posted on 07/31/2003 2:12:17 PM PDT by StolarStorm
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 389 | View Replies]

To: thackney
I have had several jobs in 15 years. My experince in some of the more advanced software has kept me employeed or helped get a job sooner. It is not a guarantee of employment; but not keeping up with the time puts your higher on the layoff list and lower on the re-hire list. -peace

Actually, what got me re-hired was not tech skills but business ones - knowledge of particular business data, along with a broad skill set in just about every area of IT that allows me to design QA processes for anything that crosses my desk. And I do agree that some programmers simply don' keep their skills current. But that isn't what is happening here - folks with some very marketable job skills are not finding work, and there are significant job shifts across the employment spectrum that do not bode well for a robust middle class in this country. And, given the importance of a middle class for political stability, one would think the federal government would consider it to be a top interest in staunching the blood flow from this change, instead of the current policy of administering anticoagulants to it.

405 posted on 07/31/2003 2:12:27 PM PDT by dirtboy (Who's that big cat I saw roaming around here again?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 393 | View Replies]

To: jagrmeister
"not enough Americans get compsci degrees."

Well, with all the jobs being offshored, this seems like a good thing.

406 posted on 07/31/2003 2:12:30 PM PDT by MEGoody
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 359 | View Replies]

To: clamper1797
I once thought like your Dad. I was the person that invented something and of course I knew it better than anyone else. BUT I got laid off anyway ... right after I trained my Red Chinese replacement ... that's no joke. My friend Chris has 14 patents and a PHd EE ... he's been out of work for almost 2 years now

Why didn't you or your friend go into patent law? Of all the lawyers out there they are the ones who can't be descibed as "ambulance chasers". They actually do protect intellectual property and make a nice living at it.

Or would you rather bitch about how bad things are.

Oh yeah you're in California aren't you. Davis's ramapnt socialism in your state had nothing to do about your friends current plight, did it.

407 posted on 07/31/2003 2:13:14 PM PDT by Dane
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 380 | View Replies]

Comment #408 Removed by Moderator

To: TheSpottedOwl
I bet you must be a fan of FDR. I bet you believe the New Deal was a great thing for this country.

409 posted on 07/31/2003 2:13:20 PM PDT by luckydevi
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 394 | View Replies]

To: N3WBI3
From the white house website, that in addition to the fact he has not muttered one word abour reducing H1B or offshoring causes me to vote elsewhere..

Geez...keep up with the program will ya...the pubbies are taking care of it...

US may eliminate H1-B visas

410 posted on 07/31/2003 2:13:54 PM PDT by ravingnutter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: luckydevi
I bet you must be a fan of FDR. I bet you believe the New Deal was a great thing for this country.

Boy, you're a one-trick poster, ain't you? Once again, what is your nationality, and do you have any vested interests in the H1-B or L1 visa programs, or in outsourcing American jobs overseas?

411 posted on 07/31/2003 2:14:27 PM PDT by dirtboy (Who's that big cat I saw roaming around here again?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 409 | View Replies]

To: ravingnutter
Tancredo is actually against his own party on that subject.
412 posted on 07/31/2003 2:15:03 PM PDT by Florida_Irish (Outsourcing is unpatriotic)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 410 | View Replies]

To: ravingnutter
Geez...keep up with the program will ya...the pubbies are taking care of it...

From your link:

The United States may do away with H1-B visas delivering a knockout punch to Indian IT professionals wanting to take up jobs in the US.

A bill moved by right-wing Republican lawmaker Tom Tancredo in the US Congress to eliminate H1-B visas has every chance of being enacted, said sources.

Ah, yes, the same Tom Tancredo who is so out of favor with the White House.

That's the problem, ravingnutter - Bush needs to get to the forefront of these issues instead of ignorning them.

413 posted on 07/31/2003 2:15:53 PM PDT by dirtboy (Who's that big cat I saw roaming around here again?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 410 | View Replies]

To: mhking
Don't know if you read this yet, but I believe this addresses the real issue. It may be labeled in the wrong terms, but I have yet to hear anyone mention these things in any recent radio show or newspaper article.

It is a long read, but I believe worth it. Please forgive the format, it is a cut and paste of comments from me on other threads

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/954156/posts

The problem is greater than H1B visas, and more complex than simple off shoring, but addresses how people can off shore in the first place!
414 posted on 07/31/2003 2:15:54 PM PDT by RaceBannon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 145 | View Replies]

To: Florida_Irish
See what u started-COMMENTS IN CONTEXT-POST 45
415 posted on 07/31/2003 2:16:11 PM PDT by y2k_free_radical (i)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Florida_Irish
Over 400 posts - must've hit a nerve.

I say we give Bush a chance to change his mind - it's over a year before the election - with some freeper effort I think he could come around.

416 posted on 07/31/2003 2:16:14 PM PDT by searchandrecovery (America will not exist in 25 years.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MEGoody
President Bush was asked a question about jobs going overseas as a result of technological innovation

No, he wasn't. Jobs going overseas and technological innovations were basis of question dealing with employment. The actual question was:

"do you have any ideas or any plans within the administration of what you might do for these people who feel like there are fundamental changes happening in the work force and in the economy?

This is one of his ideas. I don't think it is the best idea, and it certainly isn't the only idea. But it is part of a plan.

417 posted on 07/31/2003 2:16:38 PM PDT by thackney
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 398 | View Replies]

To: dirtboy
How's that "shrinking" middle class data coming?!
418 posted on 07/31/2003 2:16:48 PM PDT by Southack (Media bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 269 | View Replies]

To: dirtboy
You are so right. What he said is an insult to me and to thousands of other high-tech workers.

I was laid-off in May, 2001. Despite a one-year massive job search I could not get back in the field. I decided to change course and start a new career, in my upper forties, and return to college.

I know for a fact there are plenty of foreigners sitting in jobs I can do.

Bush, send 'em home a give an American, a citizen, a job!!

I have had enough.
419 posted on 07/31/2003 2:17:09 PM PDT by Freeper Lady
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: PenguinWry
I've made up my mind not to vote for Dubya again. He's just woefully out of touch with normal folks.

On the other hand, who should I vote for? I won't ever vote for a Dem, but I don't want to support Bush. Is there a Perot running this year?

420 posted on 07/31/2003 2:17:19 PM PDT by Florida_Irish (Outsourcing is unpatriotic)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 408 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 381-400401-420421-440 ... 701-711 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson