Can Iowa Compete in A Science-based Economy?
This is
a topic that I definitely have more to speak about, but this will be
fairly short today. Fred Dorr, a former West Des Moines School
Board Member penned an editorial promoting science, math and technical education in Iowa.
American
research-and-development dollars are being invested abroad, where
scientists can be selected from a huge number of bright, ambitious and
Internet-connected people in what dismissively has been referred to as
Third-World countries. And they bring a strong work ethic and
willingness to work for less.
We'd better come up with a response. If we don't, we'll look around and ask ourselves: What's left for us to do?
We
need a plan to identify scientific issues to address in Iowa. They
might include alternative energy sources, livestock and farming odor
mitigation, water purity, chemical runoff and crop bioscience/genetic
concerns. And then we must develop a private industry and government
response. Potential steps:
• Fund a second phase of “Vision Iowa” to encourage the development of intellectual resources in our state.
• Involve Iowa businesses. Why should VeriSign go to Bangalore instead of Boone, Cedar Rapids or Orange City?
• Re-examine our curricular requirements. Are we world-class? Not in math and science.
•
Create a governor's task force to visit our competitors' home
countries. See what they do that we could do better. Have it develop a
statewide initiative with recommended action items.
I will
simply state that I agree wholeheartedly with the need to promote
science, math, computer and technology (CMST) education. Our
state is in a far better position than most to produce young
scientists, engineers and mathematicians. We have a solid school
system (relatively) and two higher education institutions that have
solid history in innovation.
Encouraging better education in technical (and other) areas is literally a “no lose” proposition.
However, not all can be solved by education alone.
The Computational Research Policy Blog noted an article reporting the declining number of majors enrolling in a computer-related field. A reason was given by an educational awareness organization:
Andrew
Bernat, executive director of the CRA, a computing education awareness
organization, says computer science enrollment peaks when the market is
excited about a new development in technology. He says that happened
with personal computers during the 1980s and during the dot-com boom of
the late 1990s.
When there is relatively little buzz surrounding computer technology, he says, enrollment lags.
That's
the case now, but the current enrollment decline is reaching
historically low numbers. “In between (enrollment peaks and valleys),
you still need good, talented people all the time,” Bernat says. “There
is a lot to be done in computing.”
Here's
the problem with that line of thought, however; in the 1990s,
students viewed computer and technology fields as having a bright and
prosperous future in the United States. The sheer number of
start-up companies and exciting ventures was something that an eighteen-year-old student would want
to be a part of. A similar effect happened in the 1960s when
federal research dollars poured into basic space and science
programs; most senior college professors and engineers pursued
their degrees during the height of excitement generated by the Apollo
program.
In the
1990s, it was also easy to make a decent salary as a fresh college
graduate – programmers and technicians were in high demand in the
domestic market. However, that is no longer the case. For
example: a large employer of new college graduates – Accenture –
announced today that they will be hiring 30,000 new employees in three Asian nations, where labor costs are considerably cheaper.
What does that mean?
It means
that if Accenture needs 30,000 employees that they will invest their
effort into 'new employees' not in the colleges of the midwest – but
into Asian markets for cheaper labor.
They're also brutally honest about their reasons:
“If
we get into a situation, for example, in India where a specific city
has reached saturation from a salary standpoint and from a cost
structure standpoint, we have the flexibility to move and to grow a
different location–not only within India or China or the Philippines
but also outside, say in eastern Europe or Latin America,” he said.
“And we have actually started that process as well.”
We can
invest like crazy in our educational infrastructure – but what good
will it do if our corporate citizens still view American employees as
“too expensive”?
The
solutions to this issue need to involve the private sector as well as
the public – otherwise the exodus of technological fields will continue
on the same pace that American manufacturing vanished in the 80s and
90s.
Blog For Iowa 
Yesss, Yess…Allow the corporations to run around the world and take advantage of dirt poor peoples and then threaten the rest of the industrialized nations that they better rush to the lowest common denominator and get Americans and Europeans used to eating straw, dirt and bamboo, and wash their clothes in a river and hope for a medicineman or plywood clinic. The wealthy elite and the stockholders are the most important audiences to cater to. Unless we Americans play the lose-lose game, while a few grotescquely win, we're toast. The 'Middle Class' is extinct and won't develop in other parts of the world. Either your filthy rich and get by comfortably or you're the rabble and have to perpetually struggle.
In the end many of those companies find they lose money in those low cost 3rd world satellites and keep running, but the well established successful companies longterm know that suddenly educated 3rd world populaces don't have the developed infrastructure and culture of capitalism to maintain the workforce. The places to imitate are the European to Latin Am. Countires that are competing and attracting and keeping good jobs, working to increase or maintain decent wages.
********MUST READ ***************
Ireland's Economic Turn Around – New York Times
What Iowa Should be Doing<<
– The article fails to mention that is does take some sort of financing/taxes to build/invest in the infrastructure and provide the money to provide free education and logistics to set the stage for the subsequent economic expansion and profiting from global markets. Free education is not a general thing US conservatives push nor are government supported educational programs/aid.
Many companies rushing to plunder the resource of cheap 3rd World labor forget eventually wealth in a society brings the cultural concept development of social justice and rights. These people will eventually cry for better treatment and wages, an ever better life. Corporate paid enforcement of government sponsored rightwing anti union/organizing will just feed into social political unrest worldwide, sparking violence. These international companies should spread the wealth and pay workers worldwide respective liviable wages and benefits, and the migration of workers, feeding illegal immigration would be reduced. But immediate gradification of dividends. profits, and stock returns matter more, than privately or publicly working collectively so the whole human race can win and survive and not run blindly off the cliff to self-destruction/extinction. There is enough wealth for all people around the world to have adequate clothing, housing, food, medical care, and even entertainment. It is the unconsconable accumulation fairly or unfairly into the hands and benefit of the few, that results in the massive starvations and deaths around the world.
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What is this company Accenture & exactly what do their employees do & how are they connected to anything IOWANS or Americans do?….Is this a company that just answers calls for billing or are they a manufacturing company or do they build mining equipment?…I looked at the linked article but there was no explaination ….Please enlighten..
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Accenture is a technical consulting company that was once part of the “Arthur Andersen Worldwide” companies. They were based out of Chicago (now the Bahamas) and have (or had) offices in nearly every major city – closest to us were Chicago and Minneapolis.
They do basic consulting and software development for many domestic companies, and often “domestically outsourced” work from several domestic companies. (e.g. they did all of the IT work for Northwest Airlines at one point.)
The work they do is mostly “IT” work for domestic companies. (Development, software installations, etc.)
Accenture was also a very big presence on many state universities and smaller colleges – particularly in the Midwest. Now, it seems their emphasis is on offshore outsourcing.
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I should probably also state that the reason I singled them out is that their annoucement of expanding by 30,000 employees overseas was announced yesterday. It was a rather striking example of a local editorial bemoaning the reason companies are leaving is due to poor education – while a large company was very bluntly honest in stating that the reason was cost alone.
(Even if the 'cheap' countries suddenly become expensive – then it's time to move elsewhere.)
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