iPad is costing Americans jobs
By Wilson • Apr 18th, 2011 • Category: Industry News
- Photo: Anirudh Koul / Flickr
American activist Jesse Jackson has a reputation for saying some ludicrous things. His son, Jesse Jackson Jr. clearly wants to build on his father’s legacy. The politician says that the iPad is costing thousands of American jobs, and he’s angry about it. The joke? He happens to own an iPad, too.
What he says
The Illinois representative said that Apple’s tablet PC is ‘probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs.’ How did he come to this conclusion? He cited the recent bankruptcy of popular book chain Borders as an example.
Jesse Jackson Jr. said: ‘Why do you need to go to Borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes and Noble? Just buy an iPad and download your book, download your newspaper, download your magazine.’ Given this situation, Jackson Jr. asks: ‘What becomes of publishing companies and publishing company jobs?’ Again, he asks: ‘What becomes of bookstores and librarians and all the jobs associated with paper? Well, in the not-too-distant future, such jobs simply won’t exist.’
Make them here at home
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. also took exception to the fact that the Apple iPad was being produced outside of the US. He says: ‘The iPad is produced in China. It’s not produced here in the United States,’ using that statement as a launch pad for suggesting that ‘there is no protection for jobs here in America to ensure that the American people are being put to work.’
Jackson’s mistake
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. makes the mistake of assuming entire careers haven’t been destroyed over millennia by technology. They have, and this is nothing new. Move with the times.
The second mistake he makes is of not looking at the economic benefits the Apple iPad – and similar runaway technological successes – have for the US economy. Sure the tablet PC is made abroad, but it’s undeniable that the US economy benefits significantly from being hope to tech icons.
Tags for this article: apple, tablet pc
