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Bail Out America's Brains

To stay afloat, we need more Gateses and Jobses

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 11, 2009 10:08 AM CST

(Newser) – Building roads and bridges will give our economy a short-term boost—but we need to look farther into America’s future on the global stage, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. That means investing to make sure the next Microsofts and Googles are home-grown. How? For a start, let’s cut teachers’ taxes, raise their salaries, and offer people $5,000 to head back to school.

“Even before the current financial crisis, we were already in a deep competitive hole—a long period in which too many people were making money from money, or money from flipping houses or hamburgers,” Friedman writes. We need people cashing in by “making new stuff,” becoming the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. “Perhaps more bridges can bail us out of a depression, but only more Bills and Steves can bail us into prosperity.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Investing in education--particularly math and science--is essential to America's future. (Shutterstock)

To maintain our economic power, we must think in the long term. (Shutterstock)

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A student who gets stimulated by a better teacher or more exposure to a lab, or a scientist who gets the funding for new research, is potentially the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. They create good jobs for years. - Thomas Friedman

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 3 comments

Shannonals

Jan 12, 2009 4:48 AM CST

Our educational system has needed to be retooled for decades

Terrence

Jan 11, 2009 9:31 PM CST

Bill Gates dropped out of college to create Microsoft... I dare say taht most "big brains" find college way to slow fo them.

atris999

Jan 11, 2009 1:38 AM CST

Throwing more money at the problem will not lead to a solution. There needs to be a better way to grade how effectively TEACHERS interact with their students. It's a dream of mine to go back to my old teachers and tell them how much I did or did not learn from them. Education should be inspirational, but the best teachers are few and far between. A lot are just hanging on for their personal benefits. We need public servants that sacrifice their time for our collective future. No child left behind? I say GIVE EVERY CHILD A HEAD START!

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education • investment • Thomas Friedman • science education • economic stimulus package • mathematics • economy • teachers

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Bail Out America's Brains