High-Tech Leaders: U.S. Risks Losing Edge

[burythehatchet]

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Leaders of high-tech companies said Tuesday the United States risks losing its competitive edge without significant new investments in education, research and development and the spread of broadband technology.
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Well file that one under "NO SHIT HOLMES"

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"The world is changing a little bit, and frankly there is a significant amount of concern that if we don't make some adjustments, follow the right public policies, do some things that are important, we could find ourselves very quickly losing the advantage we've had for so long," Rick White, president and chief executive of high-tech lobby TechNet, said at a press conference.
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Makes sense doesn't it?...so what do you suppose we ought to do

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They also called on Congress to increase basic research funding and make permanent a research and development tax credit; promote broadband development, in part by minimizing regulations; enact a U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic free trade agreement; promote cybersecurity initiatives; and continue to take steps to reduce frivolous lawsuits.
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That's right...investing, who am I kidding, just thinking about social policy is not their answer. No, they feel the answer is in REDUCING FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, oh yeah, and opposing the requirement to expense stock options. :eyes:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&e=1&u=/ap/20050309/ap_on_hi_te/high_tech_competition

[ikri]

1. Science is the Devil's plaything!

Seriously though, if the US keeps enacting laws that prevent research into new arenas then there's a good chance that the US will be left badly behind by research in the rest of the world.

Think genetic research and Soviet Russia where because Stalin was convinced that it was a fake science no research into genetics took place for 40-50 years. The US risks going down the same route.

[burythehatchet]

2. My take is that the underlying issue is education

The article mentions that some asian countries ar graduating 5 times as many engineers as the US. (I'm going to assume they mean per capita). With an education system that is in shambles, the dis-investment in our primary and secondary schools is at the core of this issue.

My outrage this morning is that these hi-tech "leaders" feel the answer is in tax credits and eliminating frivolous lawsuits. These people are so blinded by their greed that they cannot see the simple truths that are set forth in front of them.

[ikri]

5. Read...

Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World

A lot of the issues that he discusses in the book are very relevant to this discussion. Problems with the promotion of science in education, etc.

Damned shame that he's no longer with us. He was a brilliant thinker.

[izzie]

3. Well sure we can all see this. Well if you think about it.

The one thing for sure is things will change and they have. These people who think we are not keeping the old things are right. We never have and we have always had to fight some of the people to move on.I would say we have started down the path of not being the so called 'greatest' years ago. I think that these people have been running around with the flag in their eyes to long and do not see the world as it is. Ex. yesterday on TV I bet I heard 10 times about how long we live. No one said it is way down from say No. Eur. Most who heard that will just add it to one of our "greatest' list. Some how these people seem to think we in this country sprang from the soil of this country a Dem. and a Christian country and we should rule the world.Like we came from nothing before. It is madness to think this way and think you can stay on top of the world for ever.

[burythehatchet]

4. The only certainty about life is that nothing stays the same

The core issue is liberalism vs. conservatism. We live in a liberal country that is run by conservatives. That is a guarantee of destruction and ignorance.

As soon as the evolution debate is settled in favor of creationism, I bet we'll be ready to take on the law of gravity. You know that god keeps us on the ground , right?