Technology Myth

Funny thing, the other day I picked up a book last published in 1983,(I can't find it now, but it took off from Alan Toffler's Future Shock), and I was amused that the author confidently announced that the American technological business community would mean huge dominance throughout the world, employment of American workers everywhere, a world characterized by that dominance. There seemed no concept that conversely, the attention in other countries to education, development of high capacity for technological business, and social conscience, instead of corporate greed, in other countries would take those jobs out of this country, and our business community would come to be dominated by other countries that put their resources into training and education, and development, of their workforces/citizens.

Today WaPo announced that outmoded myth as truth yet again.

Nor did NAFTA cost the United States any jobs, on net, though it might have created a couple of hundred thousand. The agreement contributed marginally to the shifting of workers from some less competitive sectors to others. As for wages, a gap between higher- and lower-paid workers has indeed developed in the NAFTA years, but the main culprit is technology, which increases demand for highly educated and trained workers.

That its time to wake up and smell the declining dollar, or at least listen to that sucking sound Ross Perot anticipated would not occur to a strong advocate of NAFTA, would it?

This country needs to stop throwing its treasure into no-bid contracts with executives' friends and start salvaging its educational system along with all the other neglected areas our government is cutting out so we can have a very rich privileged set.