Can America Keep Up?
Why so many smart folks fear that the United States is falling behind in the race for global economic leadership
Complacency. Besides, many people see deeper problems--widespread American complacency, an entitlement mentality about jobs, and a pure lack of awareness about how tenacious some foreign companies and their employees have become--that can't be fixed by a few federal grants. "When you're in college drinking beer and watching the Super Bowl, your counterpart in China is on his fourth book," says Roy Singham, CEO of ThoughtWorks, a software consultancy with offices in the United States, India, China, and elsewhere. "I'm not predicting the end of American entrepreneurship, but we will lose 10 to 30 percent of our high-end start-ups."
For all the talk about what to do--which is likely to get louder in the years ahead--it may simply take a national dose of humility before America musters its famed resolve and strives once again for global leadership. "The attitudes I see in Estonia, Mexico, Brazil, China, Latvia--they're hungrier than we are," IBM's Donofrio says. That's one reason, he explains, that IBM is "reallocating" many of its jobs to vibrant new markets. When enough of those jobs have migrated to other countries, maybe Americans will get hungry, too.
Estimated amount U.S. companies spend annually on R&D: $194 Billion
Estimated amount U.S. companies spend annually on tort litigation: $205 Billion
Rank of American eighth graders in science proficiency among 45 countries: 9
Rank of American eighth graders in math proficiency among 45 countries: 15
Percent of engineering Ph.D's awarded in the United States that go to foreign-born students: 56
Number of the world's Top 25 information-technology companies based in the U.S.: 6
Number of the world's Top 25 information-technology companies based in Asia: 14
U.S. trade balance in high-tech manufactured goods, 1990: $33 Billion
U.S. trade balance in high-tech manufactured goods, 2004: -24 Billion
With Carol S. Hook and Allegra Moothart
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