In the final presidential debate, let us review parts of the exchange (edited to highlight key points):
SCHIEFFER: Mr. President, what do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas who's being paid a fraction of what that job paid here in the United States?
BUSH:
SCHIEFFER: Mr. President, what do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas who's being paid a fraction of what that job paid here in the United States?
BUSH:
- Policies to continue to grow our economy and create the jobs of the 21st century.
- Some help to go get an education. Here's some help for you to go to a community college.
- The best way to keep jobs here in America and to keep this economy growing is to make sure our education system (the president was referring to the public schools) works. Education is how to help the person who's lost a job. Education is how to make sure we've got a workforce that's productive and competitive.
KERRY: I want you to notice how the president switched away from jobs and started talking about education principally.
iProceed's analysis of the answers
- Economic growth is key but economy can grow without jobs in America, as we have seen after the recent recession.
- While community colleges do a reasonable job, the kind of education that they provide is not good enough when these folks will need to compete with some of the brightest engineers in China and India at much lower wages.
- Education standards in public schools should be improved so that American kids can be among the best in the world but that is not an issue that is relevant to the current job crisis. Some of the most highly educated Americans do not have jobs today and many of our college graduates are unlikely to land jobs that are commensurate with their education.
iProceed's answers to the American whose job is gone offshore
- Your job is gone forever and is not coming back. While previous recessions were an outcome of economic cycles and things became normal once the recession was over, this recession has resulted in fundamental changes in the global economy.
- Welcome to the global village and enjoy the ride.
- New jobs will be created right here in the United States but our analysis shows that their pace will be lower than the growth in the workforce. Hence, we will need to get used to higher levels of unemployment (like many other developed countries). (Related article: How to deal with structural changes in the American job market)
- Retraining is key. Not for learning how to use a lathe machine but how to design a robot. We are not sure if community colleges can provide that kind of world-class education.
- Think outside America if you truly want to find a new career path. As the global economy continues to grow, there is demand for smart folks and technology can allow you to work for an overseas company without leaving the American shores. Japan provides a clear model for us to follow. Japanese executives spend a lot more time overseas now since they realized that when jobs moved offshore they had to follow.
- While Americans may no longer be able to compete in the manufacturing sector, there are areas that we will dominate the world for a long time. Our favorite of all: Entertainment. There is no way that anyone can ever compete with us in the area of entertainment and we need to expand this. Of course, emerging technologies are another area to look at (nanotechnology, biotech, internet security, etc.)
Recommended article: Impact of offshoring on American economy