Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D) may own an iPad and may have previously praised iPods and laptops for job creation, but he’s since turned sour on the iPad’s effects on the American economy. In a recent speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Jackson, who serves Illinois’ 2nd District and is the son of civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, accused the iPad of “eliminating thousands of American jobs,” particularly in the publishing industry.
Jackson had this to say (h/t HuffPo): “Why do you need to go to Borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes and Noble? Just buy an iPad and download your book, download your newspaper, download your magazine.”
“…What becomes of publishing companies and publishing company jobs? … What becomes of bookstores and librarians and all of the jobs associated with paper? Well, in the not-too-distant future, such jobs simply won’t exist.”
Some data seems to indicate that Apple is a net job creator in America — directly blaming Apple for Borders’ decline is tenuous to begin with (maybe they shouldn’t charge $30 for DVDs, for starters), but even at that, one has to take into account not only Apple employees’ livelihoods, but those of retailers and app developers.
Video of Jackson’s remarks below:
