WORKING THE PIVOT POINTS TO MAKE AMERICA WORK AGAIN Frank Islam Ed Crego Potomac, MD
Copyright 2013, Frank Islam, Ed Crego ISBN: 978-0-9846126-2-8 All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Printed in the United States of America.
Table of Contents Foreword...................................................ix Preface: Pivot Points in Perspective.......................... xiii The Confidence Game.................................... xiii American Misery..........................................xv American Melancholy.................................... xvii American Mania........................................ xviii Tipping Points, Turning Points and Talking Points.............xx Why This Book? Why Now? Why Us?....................... xxi Ch. 1: Pivot Points in American History: The Way We Weren t... 1 Revisionist History.........................................1 The Platform for Pivot Points................................3 Pivot Points on Parade......................................4 Pivot Point Takeaways.....................................27 Ch. 2: The Deficit and Debt Crisis: Poised on a Pivot Point..... 29 The Debt Ceiling Debacle..................................30 The Debate in Context and Perspective.....................31 Simpson-Bowles Moves Center Stage........................32 Paul Ryan s Private War Goes Public.........................34
iv Working the Pivot Points The Stupor Committee.....................................35 Free for All...............................................37 Stuck in a Time Warp......................................38 Noncompromising Positions................................40 Ch. 3: Attention Deficit Disorder: Show Me the Money........ 41 Fiscal Cliff or Bunny Slope?.................................42 From Cliff Dwelling to Mountain Climbing...................45 Sequestration Nation......................................47 Fuss Budgets..............................................49 One Man s Debt Ceiling/Another Man s Floor.................50 A Tale of Two Countries....................................52 It s the Econometrics Stupid.................................55 The Economic Abyss.......................................58 The Skilled Worker Shortage Fallacy.........................60 Pivot Point Recommendation: Create a National Jobs Agenda...63 Ch. 4: Congressional Dysfunction: Beltway Blues............. 68 The 112th s Report Card....................................68 You Can t Get There from Here..............................70 In God We Trust..........................................72 Trust-Busting.............................................73 Congress at the Crossroads.................................76 Getting to Maybe..........................................78 Pivot Point Recommendations: Working on Yes..............82 Structure: Break Up the Island States of America............. 83 Knowledge: Make Congress Smarter....................... 86 Finance: Control the Big Money Interests................... 88 Ch. 5: Citizenship Dysfunction: Coming Together or Coming Apart?.............................................93 The Great Divide..........................................93 The Politics of Division and Subtraction......................95 High Anxiety, Low Information, Moderate Expectations........96 The Divine Right: Conservatives, God, Politics and Policy.......99 A Case Study: Gun Control vs. Mind Control................102 A Citizen s Mind.........................................104
Table of Contents v Citizenship in the United States............................106 Education, Civic Education and the Civic Literacy Gap........107 Time for 21st Century Citizenship..........................110 Pivot Point Recommendations: All for One and One for All....113 Education: From STEM to STERN........................ 113 Collaboration: National Service Not Military Service......... 115 Participation: Voter Expression Not Voter Suppression....... 119 Interdependence Day: Celebrating the Us in USA.......... 121 Ch. 6: Individual Economic Well-Being: The 100 Percent...... 125 Income Inequality: Trends and Tragedies....................126 Inequality Takes Many Forms..............................127 Health Inequality...................................... 128 Unemployment and Underemployment Inequality........... 128 Generational Inequality................................. 129 Gender Inequality..................................... 129 Asset Inequality....................................... 130 The Incredible Shrinking Middle Class......................130 A Permanent Underclass?.................................132 Clash Warfare............................................134 The Not So Great Redistribution Debate.....................136 Hands On, Hand Up, Hands Off............................139 Labor s Love Lost.........................................143 Pivot Point Recommendation: Renew the American Dream....147 Job Creation.......................................... 147 Wage Enhancement................................... 148 Asset Building......................................... 149 Social Safety Net Development........................... 150 The Rationale for Attacking Inequality.................... 151 Hope Dies Last...........................................152 Ch. 7: Global Competition: Up Against the BRIC Wall........ 156 Competitiveness Assessment...............................157 Overall Competitiveness Assessment...................... 158 Basic Requirements Competitiveness Assessment............. 158 Efficiency Enhancers Competitiveness Assessment............ 158
vi Working the Pivot Points Innovation and Sophistication Competitiveness Assessment........................................ 159 Strengths and Weaknesses Analysis.........................160 Brazil Strengths and Weaknesses......................... 160 Russia Strengths and Weaknesses......................... 160 India Strengths and Weaknesses.......................... 161 China Strengths and Weaknesses......................... 161 United States Strengths and Weaknesses................... 161 Competitiveness Sustainability: Chinks in the BRIC Wall......162 The Context for Competition: Is Globalization Dead?.........165 American Competitiveness: Good to Great..................166 Pivot Point Recommendation: Global Competitiveness Commission.........................................169 We ve Only Just Begun....................................170 Ch. 8: Manufacturing: Slip, Sliding, Away?................... 174 The Manufacturing Imperative.............................175 The State of Manufacturing................................176 The State of Manufacturing Legislation......................179 National Manufacturing Strategy......................... 180 Make It in America Agenda............................ 180 National Infrastructure Bank............................ 182 Manufacturing Ideas......................................182 Andrew Liveris........................................ 182 Brookings Institution................................... 183 The Information Technology and Information Foundation.... 184 Manufacturing Renewal Recommendations..................184 Primary Recommendations............................. 185 Subsidiary Recommendations............................ 185 The Manufacturing Need..................................186 Pivot Point Recommendations: Back in the Driver s Seat.......187 National Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Bank (3-I Bank)........................................ 188 Job Creation Linkage................................... 189 Small Business and Entrepreneurial Financial and Technical Assistance........................................ 190 Manufacturing the Future.................................191
Table of Contents vii Ch. 9: Entrepreneurs: I Have a Dream....................... 194 No Fire in the Belly. No Fuel in the Tank.....................194 Small May Not Be So Beautiful.............................196 Small Business Scorecard..................................196 Start-ups and Entrepreneurial Job Creation..................199 The Federal Government, Entrepreneurs and Small Business....200 Growing the Gazelle Companies............................202 Pivot Point Recommendation: Help the Mainstream and Main Street............................................... 205 Making the Case for Small Business.........................207 Ch. 10: Immigration: Don t Fence Me In..................... 210 Immigrant Nation........................................211 Importing Talent.........................................212 Exporting Talent.........................................213 Immigration Straightjacket................................214 Mexican Immigration Today: A Trickle or a Stream?..........215 Reform Senate Style: An Idea Whose Time Had Come.......216 A Building Consensus Bushwhacked......................219 Reform House Style: What s This About Comprehensive?.....220 Pivot Point Recommendation: Strategic Immigration Reform..223 A Dissenting View on High-Tech Immigrants..............224 Differing Views on Costs and Benefits.......................225 Ch. 11: Education: Up in the Error.......................... 230 Higher Education, Student Loans: Victors and Victims........231 Attainment, Accountability and Avoidance..................233 The Need for Customer-Centered Reform of Higher Education...........................................234 Education Reform in Motion..............................241 American Students versus the World........................245 Doomed by Demographics?...............................247 Charter Schools: Cure or Curse?............................249 Educational Statesmanship................................252 Pivot Point Recommendation: Create 10,000 Union Cities.....254 Ch. 12: Innovation: Progress Is Our Most Important Product.. 259 Innovation Inhibition.....................................259
viii Working the Pivot Points Patents Pending..........................................261 Patents Periscope.........................................262 The Innovation Playing Field...............................263 Innovation Opportunities.................................265 Innovation Industry Targets: Health Care, Government and Education...........................................267 Innovation Partnership: The Public and Private Sectors........268 Making America the Creation Nation Again.................270 Pivot Point Recommendations: A Mojo Agenda.............272 Establish a National Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Bank (3-I Bank)................................... 272 Right Size, Modernize and Incentivize the Federal Government...................................... 275 Prepare the 21st Century Workforce....................... 277 No More Jobs?...........................................279 Epilogue: Pivot Forward.................................... 284 American Exceptionalism Defeats Extremism................284 The Citizens Mood 2012: Realistic/Skeptical Not Cynical....288 A League of Their Own...................................289 The Reasons.......................................... 290 The Responses......................................... 293 The Recommendations................................. 294 Political Messengers Need New Ideas.......................296 Decomposing Congress...................................298 Congressional Omens and Indicators.......................300 The Citizens Mood 2013: Concerned, Skeptical but Caring...303 The Pivot Point Crystal Ball................................304 Expected Case........................................ 306 Best Case............................................. 307 Worst Case........................................... 307 Greasing the Pivot Points..................................308 Patience, Persistence and Principles.........................311 Acknowledgments......................................... 313 Bibliography.............................................. 315 Endnotes................................................. 320 Index..................................................... 358