Apple's Job-Killing Progress
April 18, 2011
– Comments (7)
U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. on the iPad:
"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, ... this new device ... is now probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs,...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."
No, Congressman. That's not job-killing. That's progress. There's a difference. We didn't sit around lamenting the invention of the automobile (or its subsequent role in developing mass production) because all the buggy-whip manufacturers would now go hungry. We didn't cry for the VHS tape producers when DVD overtook that format, and eventually wiped it from the face of the earth. And we didn't set aside time in the U.S. House of Representatives to talk about the oh-so-sad demise of ice-cutters when refrigeration systems became commonplace.
This is progress. We either keeping working towards it, or some other country will. We either embrace change and adapt, or we will be stuck on a downward spiral until we become the country to which others outsource their manufacturing.
Apple's iPad did not stop me from going to Borders. Having to drive 12 miles, fight parking lot traffic, dealing with uninformed teenage "help" who don't know Vonnegut from Melville...and paying list price for a single book that measures 2-inches thick stopped me from going to Borders.
Being able to access an even larger bookstore from the comfort of my living room, and having dozens (or even hundreds) of books with me at any given time in a device that measures a fraction of that single book is not job-killing. It's enabling. It enables me to read more. It enables me to buy more: more books, more music, more movies, more applications and games. I can purchase faster. I can make wiser decisions about my purchases. And, I can purchase more cost-efficiently.
Progess should not be feared, Congressman. Borders killed Borders. Their lack of foresight into what the future held for consumers left them with no plan to adapt.
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