Joe Biden tells coal miners they can "learn how to program"

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Feb 16, 2005
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Cost which jobs specifically? Manufacturing is up over 600k since obama and our economy is the best we've ever seen. Places like Wisconsin have a job DEFICIT around 200,000 because they can't find enough people to work.

Nationally there are more open jobs than workers, the first time this has ever happened since we started tracking it 20 years ago:



and




Short of the tech boom this is best economy we've ever seen in our lifetimes, good luck trying to tell the Rust Belt (like Wisconsin) Trump lost them jobs. Michigan? New 1.5billion dollar Ford plant in Detroit. Ohio? The new "electric car manufacturing hub".
coal is a dying industry
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
87,985
55,393
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I literally already linked it to you, Trump’s only meaningful economic policies have been his tax cut, which failed, and his tariffs, which actively cost jobs.

As far as the economy goes it’s on the same trajectory it was under Obama, only Trump has been forced to use massive deficit spending to get there.
 

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
3,321
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The Hill's Saager Enjeti furthers rips him saying he is already making the same mistakes Clinton made in 2016:



How stupid can one get? Biden must think he's as bulletproof a candidate as Hillary because he just insulted most of the Rust Belt battleground states. If this guy wins the nomination Trump will use this comment for ammo at every Rust Belt rally.
I sense somebody who is extremely TRIGGERED!
In everyway Biden was 100% correct! Where did biden insult these people? Other than to point out their industry is dying?
The coal industry is dying because of TRUMP! The workers can do other jobs if they put their minds to it or if they are forced too!
let us say that Biden is making the same mistakes that Hillary made.....
In an industry where there once was over 1,000,000 workers that is now down to 70,000 workers they will not have any impact on the election!
Then you yourself are buying Trumps lies concerning jobs and manufacturing jobs !1
I particularly find thids an amusing yet innacurate - Statement-- Short of the tech boom this is best economy we've ever seen in our lifetimes, good luck trying to tell the Rust Belt (like Wisconsin) Trump lost them jobs. Michigan? New 1.5billion dollar Ford plant in Detroit. Ohio? The new "electric car manufacturing hub".

supporting article concerning our dismal economy --

 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
31,389
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They actually increased when Trump took office. Look at the pretty little graph in this article. Obama is the reason coal jobs left.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/08/coal-mining-jobs-are-holding-steady-under-trumps-watch.html

Also Trump removed many of the idiotic coal regulations that obama installed which will take time to take full effect. It'd also be nice if Trump created more incentive for clean coal investment considering we have 27% of the world's coal with the next closest country at 17%. Coal is only "bad" b/c there isn't investment in tech to make dirty coal cleaner.

Either way Biden wins moron of the year for telling coal miners to learn to code. Guy needs to just retire to a nursing home where they can wipe his arse for him. He is on track to be a worse candidate than Hillary.

Do you ever tire of making a fool out of yourself? This can't be healthy.

The ignorance and lies never stop emerging from Trump's anus like mouth, and you're moaning about Joe Biden? I know you guys are worried as hell, the desperation still ratcheting up, but c'mon. Talk about weak. Telling miners to learn modern skills, feh! He should have lied to them, promised them a trade war and to turn back time for a dying industry, right? Worked for Trump.

A clean coal believer too huh?

maxresdefault.jpg
 
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JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
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Do you ever tire of making a fool out of yourself? The ignorance and lies never stop emerging from Trump anus like mouth, and you're moaning about Joe Biden? I know you guys are worried as hell, the desperation still ratcheting up, but c'mon. Talk about weak. Telling miners to learn modern skills, feh! He should have lied to them, promised them a trade war and to turn back time for a dying industry. Worked for Trump.

A clean coal believer too huh?

maxresdefault.jpg
<--- This!!!
 
Nov 17, 2019
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Coal isn't dying. Coal is dead. Along with thousands of miners from things like Black Lung. You'd think they'd welcome every bit of support to help them into jobs that won't kill them.
 
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TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
24,254
4,092
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I literally already linked it to you, Trump’s only meaningful economic policies have been his tax cut, which failed, and his tariffs, which actively cost jobs.

As far as the economy goes it’s on the same trajectory it was under Obama, only Trump has been forced to use massive deficit spending to get there.
Absolutely this. I'm so sick of hearing about how great "Trump's economy" is. We've continued essentially the exact pace Obama set after the recovery despite policy that was supposed to make things "even better."
 

WelshBloke

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
33,133
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My point was not necessarily specific to coal but to blue collar jobs in the Rust Belt. Trump can use Biden's comment to apply to any blue collar job with the correct framing. "Look what sleepy Joe is telling working class folk, that they should learn to code! What world is this guy living in? We will fight for your jobs and by the time I'm done, you'll have your choice of a [insert job type here like manufacturing, coal mining] job!"
Is your argument here that working class folks are too stupid to learn to code or that their place is underground getting silicosis in a dying industry and that they shouldn't move on? Because both those positions are pretty deplorable.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,268
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Absolutely this. I'm so sick of hearing about how great "Trump's economy" is. We've continued essentially the exact pace Obama set after the recovery despite policy that was supposed to make things "even better."

If it's great for Trump then that's all that matters.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,242
14,243
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You think coal miners are going to respond better to Trump telling them he removed regulations on coal ie fighting for their industry (and shows them that jobs actually went up after obama left) vs Biden telling them to make solar panels on an assembly line? What world are you living in to think that a Rust Belt strategy like that will work?
Coal mining employs a relatively small number of people in this country. And it's going away. I don't expect them to like it. No one likes it when that happens to their job. The only thing you can tell them is they can find other work. That's the honest thing to tell them. Then there's Trump telling them he'll remove anti-pollution regulations to prop up their tiny number of jobs which I'm quite sure makes them feel better. But it's bullshit. He did remove many of those regulations and their jobs aren't coming back. So what is better, telling someone what they want to hear or telling them the truth?
 

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
35,822
10,118
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Coal isn't dying. Coal is dead. Along with thousands of miners from things like Black Lung. You'd think they'd welcome every bit of support to help them into jobs that won't kill them.

Might as well tell them you'll get them a unicorn too.

They do not understand because a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
 

ivwshane

Lifer
May 15, 2000
33,535
17,043
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What sp33demon shows is that people prefer being lied to. Clearly, telling coal miners that their livelihood will be going away is a hard truth to swallow but it’s the reality of the situation. If they don’t want to hear the truth then we should ignore them while quietly making policy that can help those in need get to a better place in life.
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
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Biden told coal miners the hard truth. They are going to have to change industries.

Coal miners obviously don't want to hear the truth, they want to hear lies that coal is going to make a comeback. That's why they voted for Trump in 2016, and it's why they'll vote for Trump again in 2020.
 
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ccryder

Member
Nov 20, 2008
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I'm from NH. Is there really any mining there, let alone coal mining? Last mine I knew of in NH was Ruggles Mine, and that was a tourist attraction.
 

mect

Platinum Member
Jan 5, 2004
2,424
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Coal mining employs a relatively small number of people in this country. And it's going away. I don't expect them to like it. No one likes it when that happens to their job. The only thing you can tell them is they can find other work. That's the honest thing to tell them. Then there's Trump telling them he'll remove anti-pollution regulations to prop up their tiny number of jobs which I'm quite sure makes them feel better. But it's bullshit. He did remove many of those regulations and their jobs aren't coming back. So what is better, telling someone what they want to hear or telling them the truth?
This isn't the only thing you can do. You can also have a strong social safety net in place so they don't have to go into massive amounts of debt as they are transitioning into a new industry.
 

Starbuck1975

Lifer
Jan 6, 2005
14,698
1,909
126



The Hill's Saager Enjeti furthers rips him saying he is already making the same mistakes Clinton made in 2016:



How stupid can one get? Biden must think he's as bulletproof a candidate as Hillary because he just insulted most of the Rust Belt battleground states. If this guy wins the nomination Trump will use this comment for ammo at every Rust Belt rally.
Biden is right. Some jobs are not coming back and if you want to prevent another Trump, the nation needs a plan to retrain the workers left behind by globalization and the information age. Like Hillary, he made a valid point in the most condescending way possible.
 

theeedude

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,787
6,197
126
Joe was being an optimist, but the sad reality for coal miners, like most Trump supporting demographics, is that if you are dumb enough to vote for Trump, you are probably too dumb to be a programmer. Especially coal miners. No one in their right mind would choose to be a coal miner if they could be a programmer and get paid more without doing hard work in a dying industry while risking black lung. These people are probably either going to off themselves with opiods or going to be government dependents in some way, shape, or form. Even this week, taxpayers had to bail out miner pensions.
It may be condescending, but in the last election these people told anyone who would listen that they want someone who is "not PC" and "tells it like it is", and we need to respect that and tell them how it is without mincing words. They are doomed.
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
87,985
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Lol the Learn 2 Code thing was one of the best memes ever as the internet laughed together at how stupid "journalists" have become.


Oh yeah man if there’s one thing that’s always a good time it’s trolling people who just lost their jobs.

Not sure how sad a person has to be to consider that to be a great time but let’s be honest, the internet has no shortage of them.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
22,271
6,448
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Biden is right. Some jobs are not coming back and if you want to prevent another Trump, the nation needs a plan to retrain the workers left behind by globalization and the information age. Like Hillary, he made a valid point in the most condescending way possible.
And that's the mistake that pretty much everyone here ignored.
Coal has been on the way out for a long time, and I'm sure most of the people in the industry know it, but he needed to be a bit less condescending. Don't piss off people you're trying to get to vote for you. That's politics 101 (a class Trump never took). Better to say that he would work on a way of transitioning those people into other industries.
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
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Oh yeah man if there’s one thing that’s always a good time it’s trolling people who just lost their jobs.

Not sure how sad a person has to be to consider that to be a great time but let’s be honest, the internet has no shortage of them.
Oh come on ol' chap. You can at least admit that the concept of journalism has gone down the shitter right?

In this case it was BuzzFeed and HuffPo. Facts be damned, it's all about reporting on stupid shit with no real research or fact checking. Post accusations first - worry if it's true or not 2nd.

I have all the respect in the world for true journalists - and no real respectable journalist will ever be layed off.
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
Seriously, though... I would pay good money to watch either Joe Biden or Donald Trump go through a week long Python boot camp and see how well they do. If coal miners can learn how to code, old politicians and business tycoons can as well... right?
 

theeedude

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,787
6,197
126
And that's the mistake that pretty much everyone here ignored.
Coal has been on the way out for a long time, and I'm sure most of the people in the industry know it, but he needed to be a bit less condescending. Don't piss off people you're trying to get to vote for you. That's politics 101 (a class Trump never took). Better to say that he would work on a way of transitioning those people into other industries.
Condescending? Whatever happened to this?
1577933403992.png
 
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Nov 8, 2012
20,842
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And that's the mistake that pretty much everyone here ignored.
Coal has been on the way out for a long time, and I'm sure most of the people in the industry know it, but he needed to be a bit less condescending. Don't piss off people you're trying to get to vote for you. That's politics 101 (a class Trump never took). Better to say that he would work on a way of transitioning those people into other industries.
That and telling them to learn to code is just hilariously stupid.

Coal miners could definetly learn and find work for something like plumbing long before you can teach them all the required skills for something like coding. Which is completely respectable, useful, and pays well.

Coding is on completely different spectrums of what they learned growing up, and I guarantee you that 98% of them would NEVER have the capabilities (Math skills, logic skills, typing skills, debugging, etc.) To convert to a career in coding.
 
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