It’s been quite a while since I’ve written here, though not for lack of wanting to. In actuality, it’s more a matter of feeling like I’m not as fully connected to what’s going on as I used to be. I’ve also been sitting on this particular post idea for over a month now, and every time it seemed I’d get the opportunity to work on it, something else arose and stole the time away.
But I digress…On to the proceedings.
There was a time, lo these many decades ago, when products were designed, made, manufactured, advertised, sold and purchased all right here within the good old U.S. of A. But, as we’re all too aware, the only constant is change.
And so, in the midst of this recession (or “economic clusterf&#k, if you prefer), it’s perhaps wise to take a moment and fully absorb the current state of affairs.
The days of stable manufacturing jobs in the United States, the days of “Made in the USA”, the days of buying automotive parts and accessories made just down the road from your house…those days are gone. It should come as no revelation that throughout the last several decades we’ve been undergoing (if not witnessing and acknowledging) a fundamental shift in the basis of the American Economy. We’re no longer the manufacturing center of the world.
And that’s actually a good thing.
The present economic crisis is the culmination of these decades of change – a delayed shift from physical capital and production to a new position within the global economy.
And that position is this – The United States has moved from the central producer of physical goods to the central repository for ideas.
We are now, predominantly, a nation of ideas. We have the greatest designers, engineers, scientists, managers, political thinkers, creative professionals, etc., in the entire world. Some of the best concepts, ideas and inventions were thought up right here in the US. And with the shift to a global economy, and the outsourcing of manual jobs to other countries that desperately needed employment opportunity of their own, the focus here should be on developing that economy of ideas.
One of the wonderful aspects of this shift is that, in an economy of ideas, the potential and the possibilities are limited only by what we can think of. That’s it. We have the technology at this point that, if we can think it up, we can probably make it happen. Solutions to many of the world’s problems could be within our grasp, so long as we are willing to expend our mental capital, and so long as we can learn to be comfortable with change.
The old way simply isn’t cutting anymore. I think the majority of people will agree with that.
Where is the roadblock, then, on our path to enlightened economic recovery?
It should stand to reason that, in order to position ourselves as the new center for innovation in the global economy, and in order to equip ourselves with the ability to maintain that position, we will need one thing – a well-educated nation.
And this is where the difficulty stems from. The decline of our economy will continue and remain in lockstep with the status of our educational system – a status that remains globally lower than it should be. An educational system that is in dire need of an overhaul.
How can we ever expect current and future American workers to realize their full potential in the marketplace of ideas if they aren’t equipped with the knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to present, provide or conceptualize solutions to old and new problems?
The only way to do that, and to provide for opportunity in a new type of economy, is to ensure that everyone has an adequate, basic educational foundation to build on.
We must, first and foremost, address the educational deficiencies that are holding us back from fully capitalizing on the opportunity that lies before us – the opportunity to once again become a global leader, just in a new category.
The President’s call for more training and education is not only justified, but makes complete sense when understood in the context of this economic shift. But the education system needs a major update as well in order for us to make use of it and come out the other side prepared for the challenges ahead.
Both the economy and the education system are big problems. And they require big fixes. They desperately need an influx of new ideas and new ways of addressing their deficiencies.
But that’s what we do here. We think of stuff. We come up with solutions, and then we make them happen.
The phrase “put on your thinking caps” has never been more necessary or appropriate.
(Note: Thanks to author Richard Florida, whose piece “How the Crash Will Reshape America” in the March, 2009 issue of The Atlantic provided not only great reading material on my flight to Portland, but also the inspiration for this post. And perhaps more to come.)
