Retrain jobless to boost economy

The magic word from Washington is “jobs, jobs, jobs.” The jobs that were in place 30 years ago are no longer here. A majority have been replaced by automation or have gone overseas and to Mexico.

To say that we are going to bring back jobs by tax incentives is nothing but folly. Companies cannot bring back employment unless it has a qualified work force. To believe otherwise is a pie in the sky.

Let’s face it, most of the unemployed are out of work because they do not have the qualifications and the necessary skills to perform the tasks at hand. I would like nothing better to see our factories working full force, people working and our middle class restored.

Until those sitting on the side lines get the training necessary, it’s not going to happen. We need to invest in the training of our unemployed for them to be able to do the jobs of the 21st century.

This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Retrain jobless to boost economy."