Why America Needs an Economic Strategy

As we wait for election results and speculate of the economic ramifications of a change in administration, read Why America Needs an Economic Strategy, from the most current issue of BusinessWeek. The author, Michael E. Porter, maps out a strategy to make America more competitive in the global economy. I have a few questions about a few of the ideas, but it is a very thought provoking article. Porter has this to say about education:

A final strategic failure is in many ways the most disconcerting. All Americans know that the public education system is a serious weakness. Fewer may realize that citizens retiring today are better educated than the young people entering the workforce. In the global economy, just being an American is no longer enough to guarantee a good job at a good wage. Without world-class education and skills, Americans must compete with workers in other countries for jobs that could be moved anywhere. Unless we significantly improve the performance of our public schools, there is no scenario in which many Americans will escape continued pressure on their standard of living.