Monday, April 18, 2011

We Have A New Contender

I used to think Sheila Jackson Lee was the dumbest empty suit named jackson that is wasting oxygen in congress. But after reading the following, I may have to reconsider.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D, IL) recently took the floor of Congress  to complain about what he perceived as inaction to create jobs for millions of unemployed Americans. Bizarrely, he took aim at Apple’s iPad, claiming the device as “probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs.”

...Jackson went on to explain that the iPad is manufactured in China, and that Chinese workers are therefore take advantage of “our First Amendment value, that is to provide freedom of speech through the iPad to the American people.”
Jackson's point is that the digital revolution has changed the publishing business, resulting in some job loss as people use iPods and similar devices to access their reading material. There is some validity to that, but it is a small and limited perspective. To wit:
Apple has paid over $2 billion to software developers of iOS devices. That doesn’t account for the millions in revenue generated by the sales of iPad accessories - cases, screen covers, cables, and so on. Or for the bucks raked in by retailers - big box stores, Apple retail stores, mail-order companies and independent retailers alike - who sell the iPad.

In short, ... the iPad has created - and will continue to create - a lot more jobs than can be directly or indirectly related to its release.
A video clip of Jackson demonstrating his foolishness is below. Watch it at your own risk...

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