[quote=dd123]Didn’t get time to go through the whole thread but here are few thoughts to ponder::
All the middle class jobs are being shipped-out/outsourced to countries like India.
This is first hand experience coming from me and my friends all over USA working as knowledge worker ( engineering, IT, Medical etc ) in companies across different verticals.
Innovation and education won’t help this country from my perspective. Take example of innovative company like Apple or Google: They can come up with superb ideas ideated by small number of individuals in USA but when it comes to implement the ideas for masses, it is all done in India and China leaving no middle class jobs for here.
In essence, US needs to stop this middle class job flight.
Recently, large companies have shown record profits but no job growth..[/quote]
DD: Which was my point. There is no single policy that will reverse this trend, but it will take serious policies, focusing on tax reform, US Industrial policy, R&D and a strong “Build American” program that includes actual teeth when companies like GE try to offshore jobs.
If we’re being truly honest, countries like China have painted a target on our backs and are willing to engage in “beggar-thy-neighbor” industrial policies that adversely affect US companies and jobs. I personally have no issue with engaging in restrictive industrial policies with China, including tariffs and taxes on Chinese goods. With rising labor rates and shipping costs growing ever more expensive, the argument that “Made in China” is always cheaper is being rapidly eroded.
Relative to your argument about creativity and innovation: The US, through DOE, DoD, DARPA and other similar programs, funded a huge boom in technology and electronics that ran from roughly the early 1950s through the end of the Cold War. While I don’t feel the government should be in the business of picking winners and losers (Solyndra, anyone?), I DO believe they should be in the business of aggressively funding R&D on both a small (SBIR/STTR programs) and a large scale (industry initiatives through public-private partnerships).
My dad started his career with Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) in Pasadena, and used to tell me about Bell Labs, Lockheed’s “Skunk Works” program, PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) and others. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot spur innovation like this again.
As Brian said, there is no reason why we cannot treat this as a war and engage the appropriate resources.
