The author obviously never mastered "cursive" handwriting! Printing (I just tested it to make sure!) takes twice as long, and, in an effort to do it quickly, is much less legible.
Every day I use cursive handwriting, and life is too short for me to waste time "printing": task outlines, making notes from books/essays, post-it reminders to myself, writing checks, making shopping/errand lists, writing down "get to" instructions/directions, etc...
As far as I'm concerned, cursive handwriting is one of the most heavily-used basic skills I obtained in school, right up there with reading, spelling, basic math and typing.
Couldn't every argument about teaching cursive becuase of its speed be applied to shorthand? Why not teach shorthand instead of cursive?