Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) is blaming Apple’s iPad for “eliminating thousands of American jobs.”
“A few short weeks ago I came to the House floor after having purchased an iPad and said that I happened to believe, Mr. Speaker, that at some point in time this new device, which is now probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs,” he said on the House floor Friday afternoon, as first picked up by Real Clear Politics. “Now Borders is closing stores because, why do you need to go to Borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes & Noble? Buy an iPad and download your newspaper, download your book, download your magazine.”
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He also disparaged the fact that the iPad is manufactured in China.
“Certainly it’s made life more efficient for Americans, but the iPad is produced in China. … There is no protection of jobs here in America to ensure that the American people are being put to work,” Jackson said.
Jackson’s claims have drawn media criticism. Business Insider’s Joe Weisenthal, for example, wrote that the Congressman “ignores all the wealth the iPad has created in America and the fact that there are all kinds of other jobs that have been created around the iPad, and he ignores that just about every single technological innovation in the world has experienced a similar dynamic.”
Incidentally, Jackson last month was touting the iPad while proposing that the federal government provide the tablet computer for every U.S. student. He also praised the Amazon Kindle at the time.
“Let me be clear about a few things,” Jackson said on the House floor in March, according to The Hill. “These devices are revolutionizing our country — and they will fundamentally alter how we will educate our children.”
