So, is Bush tired of being President?

[Jason Cox]

Two days in a row now I have watched Bush say some really silly things for a President being accused of allowing US jobs to go overseas.
First, on Monday it was in the news that he was telling factory workers (In Pennsylvania I think?) that outsourcing is good for the economy and that there will be opportunities to retrain for new jobs. We just don't know what those jobs are yet!
Then, today, there was an article where Bush is talking about how people are optimistic about the economy and job recovery. Really? Come on down to your "home" state and let's talk about this "optimism". You go to Austin or Dallas, two areas that use to be big on high-tech, and you're going to find a lot of people with CS degrees delivering pizzas or working in lumber yards. I know a few working as security guards for high-tech firms hoping to network their way in!
You know, it seems like in a time when people are so touchy about jobs, he's saying the worst possible things about the economy. Bush has been accused of being "out of touch" with the American people, and his comments sure seem to show some evidence of that.
It's like he's campaigning FOR Kerry right now.

[Howard Kushner]

I s'pose it's time to go overseas and work as a consultant. :roll:

[Paul McKenna]

Correction! It was his economist who made the statement that outsourcing is good in the long run. Bush came out against that by saying - "We are losing jobs in our country and something needs to be done about that urgently"
Wall Street Journal carried an article stating that Bush and his economists are at odds with each other. Alan Greenspan, is a very heavy pro-outsourcer and he has come out in the past warning against any sanctions.
Bush could do two things, at least, that could give him an upper edge over Kerry for the time being. Restore the Steel embargos to gain back the support of the blue collar workers and come out with some import duties on software imports (highly unlikely, I think) to appease the white collar workers.

[Paul McKenna]

To me it seems as though Bush and company are relying very heavily on the war on terror to carry them through and though I am no fortune teller something tells me they may be in for a surprise in November.

[Jason Cox]

I wish I could still find the article. It was either the Associated Press or Reuters, but he was quite clearly confirming that jobs were going overseas but new jobs would be created.
It's amazing how history repeats itself.
On the bright side, I like Kerry far more than Clinton.
Not even sure if I'm going to vote. I live in Texas. Voting for Bush is probably going to be status quo so I'm not having an effect, and voting against him would be about as effective as doing a write-in for Mickey Mouse.
Then again, if he didn't carry his home state, Especially with it being Texas, that would say a lot about his job approval.

[michael bradly]

Originally posted by Paul McKenna:
Bush could do two things, at least, that could give him an upper edge over Kerry for the time being. Restore the Steel embargos to gain back the support of the blue collar workers and come out with some import duties on software imports (highly unlikely, I think) to appease the white collar workers.

Restore the Steel tariffs? They were illegal, the U.S. had to back down.
The US expounds this idea of free trade through the WTO and NAFTA, however how free is it truly when countries under the mandate of the IMF are forced to sell off and privatize their infrastructure and vital resources? Bolivia's water war with Bechtel comes to mind as well as Argentina being foced to peg their peso to the US dollar while neighboring countries were able to undercut Argentina's prices making it exceptionally difficult for Argentina to export goods and hence generate economic recovery. Free trade has been less then fair.
Had the US maintained the tariff, many of the other members of the WTO would have struck back with tariffs of their own, and with the US still fighting a recession, that would have exasperated a tenuous situation. It would be hard to stimulate consumerism with ever increasing prices.
Whether it be indentured servitude, slavery, migrant workers, or out sourcing, much of the wealth of this country has been generated through cheap to free labor. Occasionally a bubble occurs, however how different is the tech industry of today from the rail road industry, steel industry, auto mobile industry and airline industry of yore?
The anomaly of reading "Learn Java in 24 Hours" and getting a 100k/year job are gone. Unfortunately the misperception of maintaining entitlement to that has not.
To those who take issue with outsourcing and wish to maintain jobs in the US, my only suggestion is don't buy from those companies. It seems silly to complain about companies outsourcing to China then support that comapany with hard earned dollars.

[Thomas Paul]

Originally posted by michael bradly:
To those who take issue with outsourcing and wish to maintain jobs in the US, my only suggestion is don't buy from those companies. It seems silly to complain about companies outsourcing to China then support that comapany with hard earned dollars.

I couldn't agree with you more. To all those who complain about outsourcing, what kind of car do you drive? Where were your sneakers made? If you don't support American industry why should anyone care that your job went to India?

[Rufus BugleWeed]

The rich are investing their tax refunds in India and China, they call it trickle out.