Obama pushing for "job retraining" program that has already totally failed American citizens

[brentspeak]

The Obama White House is http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/white-house-threatens-to-hold-up-trade-deals-unless-congress-expands-aid-for-us-workers/2011/05/16/AFJKWq4G_story.html">temporarily holding up "free trade" agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama until the GOP agrees to allow continued funding in Congress for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, which provides for "job retraining" programs for American workers laid off as a result of, well, these "free trade" agreements.

Sounds great, right? Obama and the corporate Democrats who are on the same page as the GOP with these free trade agreements are really looking out for American workers, right?

Wrong. It's already been known for several years now that job retraining programs have been a colossal failure:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/us/06retrain.html

Job Retraining May Fall Short of High Hopes

By MICHAEL LUO
Published: July 5, 2009

Tens of thousands of laid-off workers like Mr. Hutchins have turned to retraining as a lifeline. Yet for all the popularity of these government-financed programs, there are questions about whether they actually work, even as President Obama’s stimulus plan directs $1.4 billion more to retraining and other services for people who have lost their jobs.

snip

Nonetheless, a http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/Workforce%20Investment%20Act%20Non-Experimental%20Net%20Impact%20Evaluation%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf">little-noticed study the Labor Department released several months ago found that the benefits of the biggest federal job training program were “small or nonexistent” for laid-off workers. It showed little difference in earnings and the chances of being rehired between laid-off people who had been retrained and those who had not.

In interviews, the authors of the study and other economists cited several reasons that retraining might not be effective. Many workers who have lost their jobs are older and had spent their lives working in one industry. In need of a job right away, many pick relatively short training programs, which often have marginal benefits. Job retraining is also ineffective without job creation, a point made by several economists who have long cautioned against placing too much stock in it. Finally, workers trying to pick a new field cannot predict the future of the labor market, especially in a time of economic upheaval.

snip

An examination by The New York Times of one group of laid-off workers — 36 people who finished their retraining at Macomb Community College just outside Detroit at about the same time as Mr. Hutchins, from May to August 2008 — found that at least 60 percent appeared either not to be working or to be in jobs unrelated to their training. Several had jobs but then lost them later, according to state wage records and interviews. And a review of wages for several employed workers before and after training showed that almost all had lost ground.

The primary reason why job retraining has failed, of course, is due to the dramatically shrunk economy -- caused mostly by the very same "free trade" agreements which were supposed to expand the economy (or so the corporate-owned politicians on both sides of the aisle have claimed for the past thirty years).

So, to sum up:

1) Because there's few or no positions to retrain for, job retraining assistance is wasted money;

2) Obama and his people are fully aware of this;

3) Despite being fully aware of this, the Obama White House is pushing for continued funding of TAA, apparently to express some token solidarity with the American workers they're helping corporations and the GOP to crush;

4) simply by virtue of asking for greatly increased TAA funding, Obama is really just acknowledging that these NAFTA-like free trade agreements actually lose jobs for American workers, not create them (therefore, doing the very opposite of what the agreements have been publicly touted to do).

The answer is to nix the pending further middle-class destroying free trade agreements. However, that will not happen; Obama and the GOP are both hell-bent on continuing to run the nation over the cliff with corporate-sponsored trade liberalization. Unless you and your children and grandchildren are/will be among the lucky few who will win the dwindling secure middle class job lottery, get ready for a future of lifetime barely-scraping-by fitful employment.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Art_from_Ark]

2. I think this part especially hits the nail on the head:

"Many workers who have lost their jobs are older and had spent their lives working in one industry. In need of a job right away, many pick relatively short training programs, which often have marginal benefits. Job retraining is also ineffective without job creation, a point made by several economists who have long cautioned against placing too much stock in it. Finally, workers trying to pick a new field cannot predict the future of the labor market, especially in a time of economic upheaval."

[FloriTexan]

13. I agree.

What new career should you study for - who's hiring?

[Armstead]

28. Sweeping floors -- They can't outsource dust......yet

[BlueIris]

27. Yep. nt

[Jakes Progress]

3. Evidence of administration lack of understanding.

Retraining is just a buzz-word that will be used in campaigns. The administration can't really be so stupid, so witless as to think something this light weight will be of any real help to anyone except the corporate schools that run the useless classes.

It is more than pointless; it is an insult to the people that the government (republicans and neo-dems) has cheated in order to curry favor with big-pocket corporations.

Shame on Obama.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Another reason re-training isn't working --

in this economy there are plenty of people who are already trained who are competing for those same few jobs, and THEY will get the nod from an employer, not some 50 year old whose experience in the field consists of a few hours at a community college.

[Rowdyboy]

5. Propagandize all you like but "falling short" does not equal "colossal failure"

The program was in place 12 years ago at least-far before Obama became president. I worked placing people in jobs/training for 25 years and TAA was a tool, only a tool but a valuable one. People who've lost careers due to governmental "free-trade" policies maybe deserve a small leg-up. Its not a perfect program-I've certainly never seen a government program that was perfect. But to dismiss it out of hand as a waste of money is simply not accurate.

[daa]

8. That's BS

In 2002 I was in IT and IBM sent my job to India and you know what I got from TAA. Zippo, nada. It only applied to manufacturing. Colossal failure is about right.We were mostly losing white collar jobs then and they weren't covered.

[phleshdef]

9. In 2006, TAA was expanded to include IT people (digital workers).

[Rowdyboy]

11. Its your opinion and you're welcome to it ....I disagree strongly based on my experience....

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Correct. The linked study shows a modest positive effect on earnings for the average participant.

http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/Workforce%20Investment%20Act%20Non-Experimental%20Net%20Impact%20Evaluation%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf

It's not an experimental design study however and its results may not be generalizable.

[brentspeak]

18. TAA would be useful if there were plenty of solid positions in the U.S.

ie., the employment situation before trade liberalization began in earnest beginning in the eighties.

That was then; this is now. My main issue is not so much the job retraining program itself (in theory), but how it has actually become a near-useless program thanks to the very same free trade policies that the Wall Street politicians are pushing. More precisely, my main issues are the free trade policies and the various B.S. said politicians are spewing to sell those policies.

[Dr Fate]

23. The point is that Liberals would rather not lose jobs to "free trade" in the 1st place.

This type of program should not even NEED to exist. It's like handing me a band aid after you stab me.

Centirsts offer us the bandaid, and we sure do appreciate, but why did they have to stab us in the 1st place? I mean, we voted for them, gave them money and everything.

[Armstead]

29. I think the point is that governmental policies should not be displacing people...

[AdHocSolver]

6. Offering training for nonexistent jobs is a cruel fraud.

Economies are demand driven. When 80 percent or more of everything we buy is imported, there is NO demand for U.S. manufactured goods and no demand for American workers to make them.

So-called "free trade" agreements are merely a license to export more jobs to low wage countries.

The over-priced high tech products that Americans love to buy are manufactured in low wage countries like China by people, often teenagers, who don't even have a high school certificate. They work 12 to 14 hour days seven days a week for pennies an hour.

Many workers are trained on the job by the employer. How much training is required to be a hamburger flipper or Wal-Mart greeter?

The corporations, with government collusion, are turning America into a feudal state. Welcome to the new serfdom. (Actually, the feudal serfs of yore still had jobs.)

[zalinda]

7. Ask all those manufacturing workers who retrained in the 90's

for all those computer jobs, how they're doing. Can you say H1B visas? Is the third time the charm?

zalinda

[phleshdef]

10. This program was created by JFK. Its been around since 1962. And its a good thing to have.

If people are training in things that aren't helpful to landing them a job, thats their choice. A lot of people major in stupid shit in college. That doesn't mean we should get rid of college OR the freedom to blow your pale grant on a shitty major.

There is also training provided for jobs that are a lot more lucrative, but its a longer course of training. I can't believe the idea of subsidizing another avenue of education is being trashed here as really just a means to trash the President. This is disgusting and disingenious.

[Enrique]

12. i agree about the program

and I posted elsewhere that I thought this was a good move by Obama, for once he is asking something in return for what he's giving. In this case, what he's giving is the trade deals.

But I disagree with what you say about the motives of the people criticizing this. It's not personal about the President, it's real concern. The problem is that it's not nearly enough for the current conditions. We're in an economic emergency and our government is not taking emergency measures. The job training program is an ongoing program, and we need it, but it's not a repsonse to the acute problem we have now. And we need that repsonse too.

[phleshdef]

14. I'm pretty sure I'm correct on the OPs motive.

If my statement came off as a general assessment of everyone who criticizes this program, my apologies.

[totodeinhere]

24. Right, what good is job training when there are no jobs to be trained for?

It would be better to raise unemployment benefits and allow laid off workers to collect them indefinitely as long as they are trying to find decent work not including low paying fast food jobs with no benefits.

[phleshdef]

26. You present a false choice and a false premise.

First off, there ARE jobs to be trained for. You act like there has been zero hiring going on the past few years and that is not even close to the truth. We aren't generating enough jobs to keep 95% of job seekers employed. But we are still generating enough jobs to keep 85-90% of them employed (the number will vary depending on unemployment versus underemployment versus unemployed for so long you aren't being counted, etc). A jobs recession does not mean NO jobs, it means NOT ENOUGH jobs. Lets keep things in perspective.

Secondly, this isn't a choice between providing unemployment benefits or training. We should provide both. There is no good argument against this type of program. Its using government funding to enable people to learn new skills. Some people might learn some that aren't that useful, and that needs to be dealt with. But that doesn't change the fact that there are many new skills available for training that are incredibly useful and can in fact help someone land a job they otherwise could not have had. A program like this is something straight out of the heart of true liberalism. Its education, its government assistance towards education and it enables people to elevate themselves, which is why Republicans want to defund it.

[LongTomH]

16. The motives of the OP and others may include the fact that they have lost jobs to 'Free' Trade

Count me as one of those!

[Bluenorthwest]

17. Those who engage in personal characterizations in spite of

Skinner's rules against that do so because they have no real argument at hand. It is McCarthyite politics.

[QC]

19. They also do it because long experience has shown them that the rules do not apply to them

and they may therefore slander others with impunity.

[phleshdef]

20. LOL. "McCarthyite politics". Step AWAY from the internet.

As you take it entirely too seriously.

[Dr Fate]

21. dupe

n/t

[Armstead]

30. Criticizing is not the same as trashing

If Obama is using a band aid to cover up a cancer, he deserves to be criticized for it.

[Dr Fate]

22. Bush told us to "go back to community college" and all of us DEMS went nuts.

But now I guess we are supposed to defend or make excuses for the "it's the woker's fault" mentality.

We dont need to be retrained after 4 to 8 years of school- what we need is for Republicans/centrists to stop giving leeway to Un American, multi-national corporations.

[otohara]

25. Depends On The Person

also, there was a story about a guy who lost his job on the news, actually it was two men, from different backgrounds, both took advantage of this program. One of them is now a supervisor for construction sites and the other guy is still working on a degree.

System worked well for both these men.

I went to community college after losing my job and took some much needed computer classes, it helped me a lot!

[and-justice-for-all]

31. Well it is working for me...

I was laid off in 2009, displaced worker, and I have been going to univeristy and receiving UI since. It takes a little more than a few months to earn a degree ya know. I am more than half way to an associates.

A college degree does not garauntee a job in that field of study.