i had the idea for my latest and greatest globalization post- but given the recent events in the world- i just didn't have it in me this weekend. not to despair- i will write it because it is important information that i have found- but not today. as everyone knows who reads here regularly- i have been doing reading and writing about world events and especially the globalization of the planet. here are my thoughts and opinions based on what i have read- documentation to follow at a later post:
when i first started getting into this topic- i had no idea what i would find. i had pre-conceived notions based on anecdotal evidence and media reporting. i live in a depressed area in upstate new york(that's the rest of new york that isn't new york city and long island fyi) that used to be the home of IBM, endicott-johnson shoe company, link simulators- to name a few of the big manufacturing companies. we currently have lockheed martin and bae systems after much wrangling. i say this to give you a flavor of where i am starting from. the folks here are largely blue collar and middle class with a few execs leftover from the glory days of IBM. what the folks here want is a miracle. what america wants is to go back in time when simple jobs were plentiful and you could raise a family of four or more on one income. we have become a country of contented worker bees.
take a look around and you see families with big homes, suvs or mini vans, 2.3 children, a dog and the white picket fence. what you don't see is the 2.3 children getting a good education with an emphasis on math and science. we have heard the comparisons for years- our kids lag behind asian kids in math and science- but our kids can kick the asian kid's ass. yeah great. the asian kid is going to be the one your kid is working for. see- here's the deal. the world is small. we are all connected for the most part and the manufacturing jobs aren't coming back. it isn't a bad thing for jobs to be outsourced or offshored if the population is adapting and changing and innovating. we aren't- and that is the problem. globalization happened quickly- mostly within the last 10 -15 years or so during the dot.com boom. the rest of the world is hungry for our way of life- hence our high immigration rates of the past. the rest of the world can now stay home and have our way of life- or an equivelent thereof.
see- that's the thing. we aren't competing for jobs in america anymore. we are competing for jobs with 2-3 billion people. there is no turning back and we have to move forward and adapt. we have to accept that our way of life has to change and that we are not a world superpower anymore but just another player on the board. it take between 15-20 years to train a scientist or engineer to ph.d level- which is what we need in order to stay competitive. we don't have nearly enough young people to fill the gap. for years we have plugged the holes with talented immigrants. that isn't an option anymore because fewer of them can come here or want to come here. they can pick and choose now- it is a seller's market. the average age of scientists at nasa is 55 years old. boomers are retiring and our young people all want to be lawyers or mbas. the jobs of the future are going to be in technology, engineering and science if we want to keep on the cutting edge here. unfortunately, we are a mediocre thinking, complacent country these days and there are many who are isolationists. it is evident that no one is telling the country of the crisis. we're screwed.
7 comments:
As a member of AFL-CIO, my union pretty much thinks of outsourcing as a bad word. But you make a good point, if there are other "good" jobs to replace those that are lost, it is not necessarily harmful. I still do not like it though, and I try to buy U.S. products and most of the time and when I am directed (without prior knowledge or consent) to a foreign call center to conduct a business transaction, I just hang up.
I agree with you that not a lot of students want to be scientists, but it is hard for me to blame them for wanting a high-profile, high-paying career when college costs so much. Sorry to get political, but, with college tuition rates what they are now, it burns me up that Bush and the GOP pushed through the tax cuts for the wealthy and left the re-authorization of college tax breaks for later.
I can speak first-hand about the cost of college, since I just went back. Students probably want to make a lot of money so they don't spend 30 years paying off a $100k loan. That kind of money can still buy a house, in a few places anyway.
Great post, and as always, much to think about
..and in a few years, we'll all be greeters at the Super Wal Mart.
Thank you so much, Betmo for your insightful and well thought out posts. I agree with shawn on one area, our country is unwilling to invest in good education. I live in Florida and the schools here are - you wouldn't believe bad! Florida is also on the lower rungs of state funded education spending. When I talk with people from Mideast and Asian countries, I find that education of their children is their primary concern. Many families work multiple jobs just to pay for this education. They know the payoff is worth it. Here, we still think might makes right and you are right, you'll be the laborer under a foreign educated boss.
no-no- i agree with all of you. education is a dirty word here and that is really my point. outsourcing and offshoring are done deals. they do stimulate higher end jobs here. did you know that boeing is outsourcing jobs to russia? yes- they are seeking out engineers who used to design fighter plans during the cold war. not only are they cheaper- but boeing couldn't find enough qualified engineers in this country. i will dig up my stats and make another post. this one was off the cuff.
my point being- education here is not prioritized even with the broken system that we have. not prioritized with parents, students, school districts, etc. do you know what the 2 biggest reasons that people in my district and surrounding districts get their panties in a bunch? property taxes and changing the school vacation calendar. oh- and whether or not we can afford our sports teams- namely football. i don't fault the students for picking high end careers in business. they haven't been taught anything else. they don't know that they are selling their future up the river.
And GW offers NCLB, he is a villian in the eyes of the NEA and others who live in fear for being accountable. Talk to someone in the business world, outside of the educator's bubble, and our plan is set to fail. We do not encourage the best performance, only enough to get by.
I get some parents mad at me because I push their children to far. I won't accept second best, the children really hate me for tha, oh well. But let me tell you what, my two harshest critics as students, still come to visit me and I can't get rid of them.
Why do I push my bambinos his hard, three reasons:
1. This is their future, the habits they devlop in middle school will only get more vital in high school. And I like the kids.
2. Money, I teach in an urban private school with high number of free/reduced lunches and single parent households. It is more of an ivestment of the families then public schools.
3. The other private schools as well as public ones are out to get my students, if I am not doing my best, they can go elsewhere and I can lose my job as well as others.
What made this country great was our competitive spirit. And I will be damned to quit like others have in this country when the going gets tough. I have made too many sacrifices, I expect it from the rest you.
Thanks for getting my blood flowing this morning.
you hit it right on the head obob! keep fighting the good fight.
This weekend at DemocracyFest I bought a Tshirt that I will wear alot:
If you think Education is expensive..try ignorance.
To me, this is the only way to break the cycle of poverty and violence.Its far cheaper for us as a people to put children through college than support them as inmates with a 15-life sentence.
Great post, thanks :)
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