Former Vice President Joe Biden urged displaced coal miners to take up coding and computer programming on Monday during a campaign swing through New Hampshire.
Biden, who recently claimed that blue-collar job losses should not stand in the way of a greener economy, made the comment while discussing his plans for expanding “jobs of the future” if elected in 2020. The former vice president, in particular, suggested retraining programs were the key for workers in industries hardest hit by globalization and increased environmental regulations, especially those in the coal mines of Appalachia.
“Anybody who can go down 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well,” Biden told an audience in Derry, New Hampshire. “Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!”
China-linked birth tourism under scrutiny as GOP lawmakers press Trump admin for answers
WATCH: GOP Rep Roasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz And State AG Keith Ellison over Massive Fraud Scandal Point by Point
EXCLUSIVE: Trump rejects shielding Biden records from Senate probes in executive privilege showdown
Breaking: NYC Bomb Attack ‘ISIS-Inspired Terrorism,’ NYPD Commissioner Says
DHS hammers Dems over airport security lines amid funding lapse
The Most Dishonest Headline We’ve Ever Seen: The NYT’s Headline on the Islamist IED Attack at Mamdani’s Mansion Will Blow Your Mind
Iranian Women’s Soccer Team Appears to Cry for Help with Subtle Hand Gesture
Tankers to resume normal movement in Middle East in ‘a few weeks’ at worst, Energy sec says, ending oil surge
Airport chaos escalates pressure to resolve DHS government shutdown
Warrants served in New Jersey, Pennsylvania as feds look into possible NYC terrorism
How Fairfax County’s sanctuary policies led to an illegal immigrant murdering an innocent woman
A cure for cancer would deliver $185T economic windfall, report says
Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for race-based teacher recruitment
US conducts strike on another boat carrying suspected narco-traffickers, killing 6 people
Pennsylvania state trooper fatally shot during traffic stop, officials say
The former vice president’s comments come only weeks after he pledged at the sixth Democrat primary debate to “sacrifice” economic growth and potentially “displace thousands or hundreds of thousands of blue-collar workers” in the interests of a “greener economy.”
“The answer is yes because the opportunity for those workers to transition to high paying jobs is real,” Biden told the audience.
Regardless of the former vice president’s claim, job retraining and other transitionary programs for displaced workers have mostly failed to live up to their promise. Retraining programs are often a poor fit for blue-collar workers, an overwhelming majority of whom tend to be older and lack a college education, in terms of skill set and technological literacy. Even more troubling is that the jobs eligible for retraining often are either in short supply in areas hardest hit by globalization and automation, or pay significantly less than those initially displaced.
For instance, the average pay a coal miner can expect to make, under a contract negotiated by the United Mine Workers of America union, “comes out to at least $61,650 a year, and closer to $85,000 a year with overtime.” This does not include healthcare, pension, and other benefits usually offered by such jobs. Meanwhile, the jobs available after workforce retraining generally tend to be lower-paid hourly wage positions.
China-linked birth tourism under scrutiny as GOP lawmakers press Trump admin for answers
WATCH: GOP Rep Roasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz And State AG Keith Ellison over Massive Fraud Scandal Point by Point
EXCLUSIVE: Trump rejects shielding Biden records from Senate probes in executive privilege showdown
Breaking: NYC Bomb Attack ‘ISIS-Inspired Terrorism,’ NYPD Commissioner Says
DHS hammers Dems over airport security lines amid funding lapse
The Most Dishonest Headline We’ve Ever Seen: The NYT’s Headline on the Islamist IED Attack at Mamdani’s Mansion Will Blow Your Mind
Iranian Women’s Soccer Team Appears to Cry for Help with Subtle Hand Gesture
Tankers to resume normal movement in Middle East in ‘a few weeks’ at worst, Energy sec says, ending oil surge
Airport chaos escalates pressure to resolve DHS government shutdown
Warrants served in New Jersey, Pennsylvania as feds look into possible NYC terrorism
How Fairfax County’s sanctuary policies led to an illegal immigrant murdering an innocent woman
A cure for cancer would deliver $185T economic windfall, report says
Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for race-based teacher recruitment
US conducts strike on another boat carrying suspected narco-traffickers, killing 6 people
Pennsylvania state trooper fatally shot during traffic stop, officials say
Biden, himself, should be aware of such circumstances. A study measuring the impact of retraining programs, both existing ones and those began under the Obama administration, found that while they helped enrollees find work faster, there was little proof such programs led individuals to jobs of equal or higher wage to those they lost.
Despite such evidence, Biden has not only continued touting the idea of job retraining, but has also promised to ban energy sources such as coal, fracking, and other fossil fuels if elected president—to the detriment of millions of workers in those fields.
Story cited here.
