Globalization

I am right in the middle of Thomas Friedman's book "The World is Flat". I realize that the book made a big splash several years ago and I am behind. This is probably the fifth book I've read on globalization in the past several months. It's an interesting and relevant topic.

Much of the picture painted for the average American has been a loss of US jobs due to cheap labor overseas. There is so much more to this global economic progression. Globalization has been around for a long time and its not going to end. India and China are opening up and millions of people are joining the workforce as well as becoming consumers. More minds, mean more innovation. Advances in technology mean easier ways to do business anywhere. Globalization is the standard now.

I am finding America's response to this both interesting and troublesome. Large corporations and academics are embracing and capitalizing on the opportunities globalization presents. Government and mainstream America seem to be resistant and distrusting. For me, globalization is exciting and full of opportunities. America has a chance to transform our workforce development efforts and capitalize on the "new world". We can make massive changes in the realities of our citizens if we embrace globalization as reality and figure out how, not to survive it, but thrive in it.

During the run up to the November vote, I would like to hear more talk about workforce development in response to globalization, strengthening education in response to globalization, and moving capable workers into the workforce. But, these are not hot button topics, the things that affect you and me every day like gas prices, health insurance, and whether or not our friends will survive their 4th deployment to Iraq. But, if we are talking about solutions to the problems, maybe we can avoid tomorrow, the issues that are affecting us today, by investing in the long term growth of our country and the economic strength of our people.

Note: Copied from my myspace blog Summer 08