R&D IN THE US

My major concern with all that Obama and the Democrats have been trying to do to jump start the economy is that they are not solving the real problem. Money spent on bridges or "cash for clunkers" only has a short-term impact. Somehow businesses that create wealth and pay people good salaries have to be jump-started. In the past much of this occurred through the innovations developed in research universities and research labs of private companies. But no one seems to care to invest in the future by funding research that may create the next industry that will grow wealth. Since the Industrial Revolution innovations have kept America moving forward and raising out standard of living.

I don't know if anyone with influence in Washington is listening, but the September 7th issue of Business Week had one of the best critiques of what has gone wrong in America (and what needs to be fixed) with its leadership in research and innovation.

Points made in "How Science Can Create Millions of New Jobs:"

• America needs good jobs, soon. We need 6.7 million just to replace losses from the current recession, then another 10 million to spark demand over the next decade.
• Bell Labs had 30,000 employees as recently as 2001; today (owned by Alcatel-Lucent) it has 1,000.
• We have been outsourcing jobs for decades, but we have always bounced back with a new industry—a blockbuster industry.
• Of the roughly 130 million jobs in the U.S., only 20% (26 million) pay more than $60,000 a year. The other 80% pay an average of $33,000. That ratio is not a good foundation for a strong middle class and a prosperous society. Rather than a demand engine, it's a decay curve.