Group: U.S. losing competitive edge


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Leaders of high-tech companies said the United States
risks losing its competitive edge without significant new investments in
education, research and development and the spread of broadband technology.

"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.

The Palo Alto, California, group represents about 200 high-tech leaders,
including Microsoft, Intel Corp., Cisco Systems and Hewlett Packard.
TechNet made its annual lobbying trip to Capitol Hill this week to meet
with Cabinet members and congressional leaders.

White and other TechNet officials cited some troubling indications that
the United States is falling behind in high-tech development:

* Some 7 percent of U.S. households have the fastest kind of
broadband access, compared with 30 percent in Korea, 20 percent in Japan
and over 10 percent in France, TechNet leaders said. Overall, 20 percent
of U.S. households have some kind of high-speed connection, according to
a report issued last fall by the Commerce Department.

* U.S. investment in research and development has stayed flat for
the last three decades, while it has grown significantly in competitors
such as Brazil, India, China and Israel.

* Students in the United States are behind their counterparts in
other countries in math and science, and some Asian countries are
graduating five times as many engineers.

The officials announced formation of a CEO Education Task Force
to try to come up with solutions.

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
cyber-security initiatives; and continue to take steps to reduce
frivolous lawsuits.

TechNet leaders also pledged to continue their opposition to a
proposed Financial Accounting Standards Board rule that would require
companies to deduct the value of employee stock options from their profits.

Requiring some big companies to expense the popular employee
incentives could dramatically reduce their profits.



Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/03/10/h....ap/index.html

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 23:55:22 GMT, "Jim," wrote:

Jim, enough is enough.

This repeating articles is just getting stupid.

Lay off for a while will you?

Later,

Tom

* Students in the United States are behind their counterparts in
other countries in math and science, and some Asian countries are
graduating five times as many engineers

************

Until American engineers are willing to work for $500 a month (and a
socialist government picks up all the health care costs, subsidizes
housing, and pays for a free college education for everybody who wants
it)......
there will be five times as many new engineering *jobs* in those
countries as there are in the US. (Jobs that used to be in the US).

Funny how the same executives who would fight to the death to keep big
government out of the US have *no* hesitation in exporting jobs to
countries where big, socialist governments make it possible for people
to work for almost nothing per month.

The answer isn't to establish a socialist government here in the US,
it's expecting our industrial base that gives non-stop lip service to
red, white, and blue patriotism to put its money, and financial
commitment, where its mouth is.

There's not much point trying to educate our kids for hight tech and
engineering jobs. Not when they will be asked to compete with kids on
the other side of the world who can afford to work all month for less
than what the average American pays just to rent a run-down apartment
in a bad neighborhood.

On 10 Mar 2005 17:23:41 -0800, wrote:

* Students in the United States are behind their counterparts in
other countries in math and science, and some Asian countries are
graduating five times as many engineers

************

Until American engineers are willing to work for $500 a month (and a
socialist government picks up all the health care costs, subsidizes
housing, and pays for a free college education for everybody who wants
it)......
there will be five times as many new engineering *jobs* in those
countries as there are in the US. (Jobs that used to be in the US).

Funny how the same executives who would fight to the death to keep big
government out of the US have *no* hesitation in exporting jobs to
countries where big, socialist governments make it possible for people
to work for almost nothing per month.

The answer isn't to establish a socialist government here in the US,
it's expecting our industrial base that gives non-stop lip service to
red, white, and blue patriotism to put its money, and financial
commitment, where its mouth is.

There's not much point trying to educate our kids for hight tech and
engineering jobs. Not when they will be asked to compete with kids on
the other side of the world who can afford to work all month for less
than what the average American pays just to rent a run-down apartment
in a bad neighborhood.

That's the attitude! Give our kids even *more* reason to search for the easiest
way to get a worthless degree.

The education problem was here before outsourcing. Outsourcing is one of the
effects of our education problem.

--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

"John H" wrote in message
...
On 10 Mar 2005 17:23:41 -0800, wrote:

* Students in the United States are behind their counterparts in
other countries in math and science, and some Asian countries are
graduating five times as many engineers

************

Until American engineers are willing to work for $500 a month (and a
socialist government picks up all the health care costs, subsidizes
housing, and pays for a free college education for everybody who wants
it)......
there will be five times as many new engineering *jobs* in those
countries as there are in the US. (Jobs that used to be in the US).

Funny how the same executives who would fight to the death to keep big
government out of the US have *no* hesitation in exporting jobs to
countries where big, socialist governments make it possible for people
to work for almost nothing per month.

The answer isn't to establish a socialist government here in the US,
it's expecting our industrial base that gives non-stop lip service to
red, white, and blue patriotism to put its money, and financial
commitment, where its mouth is.

There's not much point trying to educate our kids for hight tech and
engineering jobs. Not when they will be asked to compete with kids on
the other side of the world who can afford to work all month for less
than what the average American pays just to rent a run-down apartment
in a bad neighborhood.

That's the attitude! Give our kids even *more* reason to search for the
easiest
way to get a worthless degree.

Outsourcing, like so many liebral talking points, is for the most part
overblown myths

http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_b...0410130821.asp
http://www.computerworld.com/develop...,93413,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,117820,00.html


The education problem was here before outsourcing. Outsourcing is one of
the
effects of our education problem.

--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

John H wrote:

That's the attitude! Give our kids even *more* reason to search for the
easiest
way to get a worthless degree.

The education problem was here before outsourcing. Outsourcing is one
of the
effects of our education problem.


--
******************

If we turned out as many or more engineers as do the Chinese and the
Indians (countries with several times our population and probably not
producing that many more engineers per capita)
the corporations would *still* look around and say:

"We can pay an American graduate, living in the United States, a
starting wage of $1000 a week, plus another $1000 a month in FICA and
fringe benefits, and have that graduate make design computations on a
software program. Or, we can pay and Indian graduate, living in New
Delhi, $125 a week to do the same job and not worry about the fringe
benefits, etc, because the government provides for the sick and the
elderly in India. The Indian graduate will work at least as hard for
the $125 a week, be more grateful to get it, be able to buy an equally
luxurious lifestyle, and when he qualifies for a 10% pay increase after
a year it will cost us $12 a week instead of another $100."

Even Bill Gates, who is loudly wailing about the loss of high tech jobs
to third world countries and is blaming the shift on "poor education",
is laying off some of the most highly educated workers in the world
here in the US to export jobs as fast as he can to a market where his
labor costs are about 20% of what they are here in the US.

You want to train the younger generation for the jobs of tomorrow?
Forget anything that can be done on computer with the results shot
anywhere around the world via the internet.

The best paid new jobs will be in sales and marketing, construction,
mechanical repair, home remodel, travel and entertainment. Medical
professions are safe. Anything that requires the physical presence of a
skilled human being, on site, rather than several thousand miles away
in a socialist, third world economy.

It's a paradigm shift, yet again. Our generation was well compensated
for what we *knew*, but knowledge is portable and you can educate
people who are willing to work and who can afford to work for
substantially less than even poverty-level wages in the US. Our kids
will be paid less for what they know and more for what they can *do*,
and the less exportable the skill set and the greater the requirement
that somebody be physically located where the services are performed
the more the job is likely to pay.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
John H wrote:
On 10 Mar 2005 17:23:41 -0800, wrote:


* Students in the United States are behind their counterparts in
other countries in math and science, and some Asian countries are
graduating five times as many engineers

************

Until American engineers are willing to work for $500 a month (and a
socialist government picks up all the health care costs, subsidizes
housing, and pays for a free college education for everybody who wants
it)......
there will be five times as many new engineering *jobs* in those
countries as there are in the US. (Jobs that used to be in the US).

Funny how the same executives who would fight to the death to keep big
government out of the US have *no* hesitation in exporting jobs to
countries where big, socialist governments make it possible for people
to work for almost nothing per month.

The answer isn't to establish a socialist government here in the US,
it's expecting our industrial base that gives non-stop lip service to
red, white, and blue patriotism to put its money, and financial
commitment, where its mouth is.

There's not much point trying to educate our kids for hight tech and
engineering jobs. Not when they will be asked to compete with kids on
the other side of the world who can afford to work all month for less
than what the average American pays just to rent a run-down apartment
in a bad neighborhood.


That's the attitude! Give our kids even *more* reason to search for the
easiest
way to get a worthless degree.

The education problem was here before outsourcing. Outsourcing is one of
the
effects of our education problem.



It would be a giggle to know what Herring believes a "worthless" degree
is, since for many, the purpose of higher education is not to learn a
trade, but to further prepare one's mind.

"To further prepare one's mind" for what? Flipping burgers at McD's?

Faux News and the National Review? Puhleeze.

Hasn't the RNC issued some equally "objective" comment on this issue?

krause

your own children were left behind, you said yourself. You also said they
left you for their mother promising never to associate again.
Tell me krause, did you put on your military attire today, go down your
acreage, duck between trees and pop out with a roll then fire on your tin
can? Did you do your make belief you are a war hero? Or did you skip that
and just come here to insult the real heros? You pretending or insulting?
lol,,,







"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
John H wrote:
On 10 Mar 2005 17:23:41 -0800, wrote:


* Students in the United States are behind their counterparts in
other countries in math and science, and some Asian countries are
graduating five times as many engineers

************

Until American engineers are willing to work for $500 a month (and a
socialist government picks up all the health care costs, subsidizes
housing, and pays for a free college education for everybody who wants
it)......
there will be five times as many new engineering *jobs* in those
countries as there are in the US. (Jobs that used to be in the US).

Funny how the same executives who would fight to the death to keep big
government out of the US have *no* hesitation in exporting jobs to
countries where big, socialist governments make it possible for people
to work for almost nothing per month.

The answer isn't to establish a socialist government here in the US,
it's expecting our industrial base that gives non-stop lip service to
red, white, and blue patriotism to put its money, and financial
commitment, where its mouth is.

There's not much point trying to educate our kids for hight tech and
engineering jobs. Not when they will be asked to compete with kids on
the other side of the world who can afford to work all month for less
than what the average American pays just to rent a run-down apartment
in a bad neighborhood.


That's the attitude! Give our kids even *more* reason to search for the
easiest
way to get a worthless degree.

The education problem was here before outsourcing. Outsourcing is one of
the
effects of our education problem.



It would be a giggle to know what Herring believes a "worthless" degree
is, since for many, the purpose of higher education is not to learn a
trade, but to further prepare one's mind.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Faux News and the National Review? Puhleeze.

Hasn't the RNC issued some equally "objective" comment on this issue?


Exactly what in the articles from Fox and the National Review do you not
believe?