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!”
Hegseth Explains Utter Devastation of Iranian Regime’s Defenses – U.S. Close to ‘Uncontested’ Control of Airspace
Trump teases kingmaker endorsement in Texas ‘soon’ to force other candidate out of runoff
Leavitt says ground troops in Iran not currently being considered, doesn’t rule it out
Fact Check: No, Hegseth Did Not Indicate Boots Would Be on the Ground in Iran
Spain urges Trump not to ‘play Russian roulette’ with ‘destiny of millions’ in Iran
NATO defenses shoot down Iranian missile fired toward Turkey, defense ministry says
Trump brings Big Tech executives to White House to curb power costs for American households amid AI boom
Crockett Implies TX Dem Election Chaos in Dallas Was Secretly Racist: ‘I Think We All Know Why’
Dan Crenshaw Loses Primary After Becoming Lone Texas Republican Without Trump’s Endorsement
US ‘winning decisively’ against Iran, will achieve ‘complete control’ of airspace within days, Hegseth says
Metal detector scans front yard of Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother as sister to get car back
Trump May Be Fulfilling a Major Biblical Prophecy – As We Speak, Jeremiah 49 Appears to Be Coming True
Former MLB star Mark Teixeira wins GOP primary in Texas congressional race
Former Red State Mayor Found Guilty After What Her Kids Saw Her Doing
Pentagon identifies 4 of 6 US service members killed in drone attack and more top headlines
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.
Hegseth Explains Utter Devastation of Iranian Regime’s Defenses – U.S. Close to ‘Uncontested’ Control of Airspace
Trump teases kingmaker endorsement in Texas ‘soon’ to force other candidate out of runoff
Leavitt says ground troops in Iran not currently being considered, doesn’t rule it out
Fact Check: No, Hegseth Did Not Indicate Boots Would Be on the Ground in Iran
Spain urges Trump not to ‘play Russian roulette’ with ‘destiny of millions’ in Iran
NATO defenses shoot down Iranian missile fired toward Turkey, defense ministry says
Trump brings Big Tech executives to White House to curb power costs for American households amid AI boom
Crockett Implies TX Dem Election Chaos in Dallas Was Secretly Racist: ‘I Think We All Know Why’
Dan Crenshaw Loses Primary After Becoming Lone Texas Republican Without Trump’s Endorsement
US ‘winning decisively’ against Iran, will achieve ‘complete control’ of airspace within days, Hegseth says
Metal detector scans front yard of Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother as sister to get car back
Trump May Be Fulfilling a Major Biblical Prophecy – As We Speak, Jeremiah 49 Appears to Be Coming True
Former MLB star Mark Teixeira wins GOP primary in Texas congressional race
Former Red State Mayor Found Guilty After What Her Kids Saw Her Doing
Pentagon identifies 4 of 6 US service members killed in drone attack and more top headlines
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.
