03-28-2009, 08:25 PM
A failure of someone's imagination to understand that old jobs are gone and new ones can be created is not a failure on Obama's part.
http://www.startribune.com/business/40877407.html
Maybe it is time to stop mocking the "bridges and roads" effort, as this is an area of employment that in no way can ever be sent out of the country.
Or for a different hypothetical situation: a man who is no longer employed at GM could be retrained to work on the building or installation of wind turbines, or installing and maintaining elevators, or environmental cleanup, or constructing or operating load management systems. Yeah, his old job is never coming back. That doesn't mean he remains unemployed.
Like I said, it's about imagination and looking forward, instead of sitting on one's butt grousing that things are changing.
'These jobs aren't coming back'
The breakneck pace of job losses - 2.6 million in the past four months - may reveal a reshaping of the U.S. economy.
"These jobs aren't coming back," said John E. Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C. "A lot of production either isn't going to happen at all, or it's going to happen somewhere other than the United States."
For decades, the government has reacted to downturns by handing out temporary unemployment insurance checks, relying upon the resumption of economic growth to restore the jobs lost. This time, the government needs to place a greater emphasis on retraining workers for other careers, these economists say.
President Obama pointed to the latest evidence of distress as justification for a strong, government-led effort to generate jobs quickly.
"This country has never responded to a crisis by sitting on the sidelines and hoping for the best," Obama said in an appearance in Columbus, Ohio. "Throughout our history we have met every great challenge with bold action and big ideas."
http://www.startribune.com/business/40877407.html
Maybe it is time to stop mocking the "bridges and roads" effort, as this is an area of employment that in no way can ever be sent out of the country.
Or for a different hypothetical situation: a man who is no longer employed at GM could be retrained to work on the building or installation of wind turbines, or installing and maintaining elevators, or environmental cleanup, or constructing or operating load management systems. Yeah, his old job is never coming back. That doesn't mean he remains unemployed.
Like I said, it's about imagination and looking forward, instead of sitting on one's butt grousing that things are changing.