Re: [SLUG-POL] U.S. no longer top tech nation

From: Bryan J. Smith (b.j.smith@ieee.org)
Date: Thu Mar 10 2005 - 20:22:09 EST


Paul M Foster wrote:
> The _basic_ innovations still come from here.

Actually, the US has been seriously slipping from the R&D rankings.
It's going hand-in-hand with the shrinkage of engineeing graduates.
Post-9/11 has reallt hurt, along with prior Visa programs like H1B.
We are not only seeing a reduction in the inflow of foreign talent
post-9/11, but we were already preventing most foreign talent from
staying in the US by putting them under H1Bs instead of issuing Green
Cards to uniquely qualified individuals.
Green Cards don't take away US jobs because holders aren't at the mercy
of a sponsor, H1Bs are the exact opposite.

The IEEE has some great stuff on how both views on immigration and
protectionalism are failing.
Linus Torvalds and Miguel deIcaza are two of their prime examples.
Linus was granted a H1B when he should have been granted a Green Card.
Miguel was denied both.

> Japan is very very good at efficiency and implementation,

Not! That hasn't been true since the late '80s.
The average American worker works longer hours and produces more than
the average Japanese or German worker.

Educational statistics are also skewed.
They are based on the education at age 18-20.
Americans can go back to school very easily, and most do.
Not so in any other country, especially Japan where it is extremely
difficult after age 20.

> but the original ideas are usually from us.

Not really.
Again, the US has really fallen off on R&D.
And I would argue without DARPA and other agencies, we'd really be
behind.

> I've seen a lot of "news" like this, which is mostly _designed_ to paint
> the U.S. in a bad light, and written by people who don't like us. That
> includes a lot of people who live right here among us. Somehow, while
> living in one of the most prosperous, successful and free countries on
> Earth, some people still persist in believing and forwarding the idea
> that we or our economic system are bad.

Actually, socialism in the US is implemented far worse than most
European nations.
People have gone from expecting companies to take care of them to
believing the US government is an endless pool of money from "the rich."
At least socialist nations realize that the government only has so much.

> Sorry, but I look askance at people who believe the U.S. is anything but
> the best country on Earth.

It's people who work and don't accept "entitlements" are.
Unfortunately, they are now a rare breed.
Entitlements continue to scale well beyond the growth of defense
spending.
What bothers me about entitlements is how much less people actually get
than if I just gave them the funds directly.
God knows of the over $16,000s I provided the US federal government for
entitlements (not including the defense, infrastructure or other "public
commons" - and that's still not including social security/medicare
either, just FICA),
only a couple thousand made it outside agencies and representative-type
"Pork" legislation to people who actually needed it.

This nation is becoming a service nation of followers.
The only hope we have is that the massive number of layoffs in the .com
bust has resulted in a massive number of new, small companies.
If American innovation can come out of that, then we are in good shape.
But God does the taxation of "high income earners" (which are the "rich"
affected by higher income taxes - *not* the "wealthy" who do *not* pay
them) have to be curbed.
We're only preventing small investors and enterprenuers (they are
typically the same income levels) from making our future happen.
They don't spend on luxuries, they tie up those funds in unliquidatable,
real assets like people.

Don't think of the "wealthy" when you want income taxes to be raised.
  They don't pay any.

--
Bryan J. Smith   mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org
Currently Mobile



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