Keeping America Educated
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Column
By Brian Salgado   
Tuesday, 14 March 2006
smc Carlos M. Gutierrez
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez says education is the key to America's economic future; therefore, the president wants professionals to recruit math and science professionals to teach.
At National Manufacturing Week in Chicago in March, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez told manufacturing executives that the United States is in a powerful position in the global economy when compared to other nations with similar economies.

Gutierrez cited numbers such as the U.S. gross domestic product's growth of 3.5 percent compared to Canada (2.9 percent), Japan (2.8 percent) and the Euro-zone (1.4 percent); and unemployment at 4.8 percent vs. France (9.2 percent), Germany (9.1 percent) and Italy (7.5 percent). The U.S. has added nearly 5 million new jobs in the past two-and-a-half years, which is more than Japan and the 25 nations of the European Union combined, he added.

Inching Near
Gutierrez also acknowledged that the rest of the world continues to catch up. And Gutierrez says President Bush wants to keep the United States above the competition for years to come - especially in manufacturing.

“Put simply: Manufacturing makes America more competitive,” Gutierrez said. “And, on a level playing field, President Bush believes American workers can compete with anyone in the world. The president also believes that continuing to lead the global economy is the best way to shape our future.”

Other numbers do not bode well for America's future in manufacturing. Gutierrez says in 2005, China graduated more than 600,000 engineers, India 350,000 and America just 70,000. “Education is the greatest indicator of future success and prosperity,” Gutierrez added.

No Child Left Behind
Gutierrez is banking on the No Child Left Behind Act to beef up these numbers in the future. He says the act has already helped raise test scores and close the achievement gap, but the United States should be able to build on this with the president's plan to recruit 30,000 math and science professionals into classrooms.

“We need to show our kids that math and science are cool - and can lead to exciting careers,” Gutierrez said. “This is a major calling, and I hope everyone in this audience will be part of it.” Gutierrez said that is why President Bush has proposed the American Competitiveness Initiative, which includes improving math and science skills in schools; tripling the number of workers getting training; attracting and retaining the world's best and brightest through immigration reform; and doubling funding for basic research and development and making permanent the private sector research and development tax credit. “Our focus on competitiveness goes hand-in-hand with the president's agenda for continued economic growth,” Gutierrez said. “We need to keep America as the best place in the world to do business.”

Talent at Home
Gutierrez also emphasized retaining the talent the United States helps educate. He said the United States needs to increase the number of H-1B visas for temporary workers and raise the number of employment-based green cards to stop the trend. “Foreign students come to America to get the best education money can buy,” he said. “Then they are forced to go home and compete against us.” 

     
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