FrankSpace

FrankSpace

Last night I was reading a couple of posts by Jeanie de Arc on Tom Friedman here and here

I thought she was too harsh on him having an econ degree myself.
"You need only read Tom Friedman's paean not to creating economic relationships that meet human needs, but to creating men and women who fit neatly into the economic machine, to see a perfect, and repulsive, example of what John Paul was talking about." Is just part of her critique.

Then I was going threw some old Globblog (General Glut)archive here about 60% down the page
I like his thinking though I often don't entirely agree.

"but is anyone naive enough to believe that no jobless recovery would have occurred on Al Gore’s watch?" Globblog asks.

And it occured to me that the whole point of Friedman's column "It's a Flat World, After All"... Flat World here
...is that its not Bush's fault that we are in a jobless recovery. Its because Americans are lazy and stupid. Which is of course BS of the rankest ordure. Americans work more hours than anyone in the industrial world. Americans have amoung the highest productivity and proportion of advanced degrees as well. Further and more importantly; The conditions he is describing in terms of access to productivity mediating software and connection to the internet Were already available to those in India and China well connected enough to have a good education

America isnt failing to maintain its technological/creative edge because of its workers. Bush is letting go of our strengths because he neither understands nor values them.

I agree with Elaine Supkis here Its not a coincidence that this administration is very good for Texas Oil Men. Nor that its bad for American IT workers. Thanks guys I now have a much lower opinion of Tom Friedman, not that it was high before, and a better understanding of why we are so screwed.