Our public dialogue is full of wishful thinking disguised as sound economic policy, including the following sound bites that are not facts, but often play them on TV:
“When the ‘economic stimulus package’ gives everyone $300 to $1,200 in May, it will make a big difference for our economy.”
“If we drive our national debt to new records, it won’t weaken the dollar and cause inflation.”
“If we give mortgages to people who can’t afford them, they won’t default.”
Whatever happened to the notion that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is?
We need to stop being distracted by wishful thinking, and focus on one solid fact – our economy competes with the rest of the world based on the skills, education and productivity of our people. If we fail to produce skilled and educated people at a competitive level, the global economy’s investments, companies, jobs and wealth will go elsewhere. No amount of tinkering with interest rates or tax rebates will change that.
In 1999, the United States produced twice as many college graduates as China. In 2005, the U.S. was still producing the same number, and China not only caught up, but produced double the number of U.S. graduates.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020, 15 million new U.S. jobs will require post-secondary credentials, but the country will only produce 3 million new workers with those skills.
The hard fact is we are not skilling our workforce fast enough.
Our economy needs more people in high-demand college programs, apprenticeships and technical training. It needs a lower high school dropout rate, and stronger connections between business and education communities.
But there is good news, too.
Clark County is leading the way, and the state is beginning to take notice – several leading workforce programs were born here, gained statewide recognition and are now expanding toward statewide implementation.
Such programs include In Demand Scholars, which gives high school students business internships coupled with scholarships for post-secondary training in the same field, and the Mentoring Advanced Placement program, which provides workplace experience in high-tech companies for advanced placement students.
The state has expanded Skills Centers and career and technical education and a workplace e-learning bill, setting quality standards and increasing access to skills training was approved. The state began expanding college affordability programs and focusing them on high-demand degrees, while starting a new emphasis on dropout prevention.
On the federal level, Sen. Murray seeks a summer youth employment program, Sen. Cantwell looks to expand the Workforce Investment Act and Rep. Baird fought for the America COMPETES Act to make the U.S. more competitive globally.
We are taking some of the right steps. Now we have to scale up our efforts.
This is hard work that is sometimes expensive, but to assume our economy can thrive in the future if our workers are no longer as skilled and educated as their global counterparts is economic wishful thinking that will cost us much more in the long run.
