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.

[y2k_free_radical]

AMEN-BUSH is being stupid

[Afronaut]

McDonald's Tests Grill That Ends Job Of Flipping Burgers

OAK BROOK, Ill. (Dow Jones)--McDonald's Corp. is embracing automation to expedite its recovery. From customer-controlled ordering kiosks to self-paced crew training terminals, the fast-food giant is turning to technology to attack speed-of- service and friendly employee issues in its restaurants. McDonald's showed off those and other devices at its Innovation Center to members of the press during its first-ever Media Day on Wednesday. The star attractions in the array of test-kitchen apparatus were a half dozen prototype ordering kiosks, an experimental cooking grill that does away with burger flipping and a machine that makes, salts and bags French fries automatically.

http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030731/1718001747_2.html

Whoops

[strela]

President Blames Unemployment On Lack Of Tech Skills

Why thank you, Mr. President. I will eat cake for supper tonight. And its not like I won't have time to bake one today, for I have no pesky job to interrupt me from doing so. You see, my employer found some guy in China who offered to do my job for a whole lot less than he was paying me, and Hsing doesn't even eat cake (just rice and stuff that I probably wouldn't feed to my cat). It seems that many of the other employers around here have the same money-saving idea as well, for more and more of my neighbors are sitting around in their kitchens during the day, eating their cake and working on their resumes.

Won't you join me for a slice when you have some free time, Mr. Bush? Say, any time after Election Day in 2004? By that time, the local McDonalds should need some help and I can smuggle some day-old apple pies out for a nice treat for the both of us.

[Florida_Irish]

The free market includes dealing with socialist and communist nations for cheap labor?

[RaceBannon]

Read the first link I posted. Adam Smith believed in PROTECTIONISM!!!

You believe it!! The quote is there!!

TARIFFS!!

[luckydevi]

Yeah, it is depressing

[dirtboy]

Why are you making this debate so easy for me?! You know that you can't substantiate your claim above about me anymore than you can find existing demographic data to support your earlier wild-eyed claim about the American middle-class actually shrinking in physical size.

Fine, Southack, you win. You can celebrate the fact that entire nature of the middle class is changing, that folks who used to make decent incomes over $60K a year now face jobs earning half that, but, hey, they're still middle class. By their fingernails.

Enjoy your victory lap. And when the data comes out next year showing what's happened over the last two years to middle-class earners, I'm sure you'll be here, telling us how it's all a good thing.

And tell us all how we just want to bash Bush with our criticisms - but I'm sure if Bush loses next year because he didn't listen to his base, you'll be back to blame his defeat on us.

You're reprehensible.

[lelio]

I bet you believe the New Deal was a great thing for this country.

Ask yourself why we had the New Deal. Who was president before FDR? Turning to socialist ideas just doesn't happen in a vaccuum, there has to be a reason for it.
Or as Ross Perot put it, someone's going to have to deal with the crazy aunt in the attic.

[GingisK]

And -- but you're right....

Not a good sign. In other articles, the Bush Administration's State Department has assured India that no obstructions are forthecomming in Conress with respect to outsourcing.

All in all, I think GWB's stand on my employment is pretty clear.

[Dane]

We like to know if posters have an agenda, we get a lot of trolls here who misrepresent who they are. Plus, about the only folks I see defending the H1-B program any more have a vested interest in it

I have no vested interest in the HB-1 program and I can empathize with Lucky's trepidation about finding a job.

I graduated from Ohio State in 88 and the jobs were scarce. I made do(accepting jobs that were "lesser" of me and prospered later.)

JMO, dirt you are hopeless malcontent.

[luckydevi]

Well to be honest this is a debatable issue.

[dirtboy]

Government regulation never works and for some odd reason it causes harm.

You didn't answer. Do you think that it's a good idea to continue H1-B visas when we no longer have a shortage of IT workers and instead have a couple million IT workers looking for employment?

The truth is once the economy turns around( and it will be sooner rather than later), this will be a non-issue

Sorry, but this is a much more profound shift than simple cyclical economics.

[Jim Robinson]

Oops, the thread got deleted along with all of the rest of this loser's posts when I nuked him. This is the third account (that I know of) for this anti-war, anti-Republican, anti-Bush, anti-everything poster. His thread can stay, but he's got to go.

[lelio]

Thank you Jim Rob!

[Bella]

There's more air in between those ears than meets the eye!

It appears he's really shafting the american people! Guess he's saying that the american people are worthless and stupid! Talk about lack of skills--shall we question him!?

[thackney]

Thank you!

[Bella]

I read somewhere the faxes and phone calls get more attention.

I've called many times, faxed many times also...guess who answers the phones?--people who could care less because they're sitting there for a paycheck..Do you think they give the messages where you want? Maybe we ought to keep our eyes wide OPEN and watch what's going on..Everyday more and more people are losing their jobs, then their homes..Does he like homeless people? Ooopppsssss--isn't he away on his annual month vacation again? I bet millions of americans can't afford to take a day or two vacation because they're lucky if they have food on their table, if they have a table left. I'm sorry, but I find his comment offensive, demeaning, belittling, and degrading to the people.

[harpseal]

What is wrong with tariffs they are Constitional very much free market oriented and very conservative in nature a consumption tax for the privledge of bring foreign produced goods into this nation. Further they are excellent gbargaining chips in the trade war.

[MEG33]

Did you read the entire transcript or just the taken out of context one.I know what it's like to be without a job,have a mortgage,carpayments and 2 kids in college.It looked hopeless for quite awhile.When we found work it required a move across country and selling our dream home.I didn't blame the government.