There is no argument so dumb it cannot be recycled

This is Joseph

Really?

“There has never been a more critical time for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to be aware of the multiple pathways to career success and gain the vocational training and skills they need to fill jobs in a changing economy,” said Ivanka Trump, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

This led Daniel Drezner to opine "I think we need to consider the possibility that the Trump White House is populated by morons."

And it is not just the white house -- see the NYT! Adam Ozimek has the best take:

Look I am a fan of education and training, but the unemployment rate was 3.5% with the skills workers had five months ago

And this is not a misrepresentation of the campaign. See Ivanka Trump:

I mean this just beggars belief. First of all, we had a very low unemployment rate a few months ago and then a pandemic hit. That is a classic external shock, like the China shock was for trade. You know who isn't to blame for shocks -- the individual workers. Six months ago there were some happy entrepreneurs building restaurant businesses. There were cooks and steak house managers, who had a happy career doing something useful. The issue was not that they lacked skills, it was that their skills were about to rendered obsolete.

This is a very big deal to get wrong. Here is Megan McArdle talking about the China shock:

The reason that this matters is that it shifts blame to the workers (why don't you have skills?) instead of accepting that there is a shock going on and asking if some of the gains from that shock should be redistributed. Remember, a large external shock is not a source of moral hazard if it was reasonably unforeseeable and insuring against these shocks is a natural function of government. Now, it does mean that resources might go into workers instead of into Elon Musk's government subsidy plan. But that is a good outcome.

I think we need to start making fun of this whenever we see it. Yes, everyone could have more skills. But, as an aggregate, if people are unable to obtain the skills they need that is a structural problem and not a personal one. It is never more clear when the skills argument is being rolled out now!