“Two Americas” (and what to do about it)

Summary

Unless we fundamentally reform America’s K-12 public education, we will accelerate the disintegration of America into two: one rich, one poor.  The consequences are trade war, worldwide poverty, backlash against immigrants, and ultimately world war.

Introduction

As a 2004 Presidential candidate, Sen. John Edwards filled his campaign speeches with talk about “Two Americas”.  While Sen. Edwards’ “solution” marks him as a class warrior, America does indeed suffer a serious “Two America” problem. 

Sen. Edwards’ incomplete analysis

Sen. Edwards’ analysis traces the chain of cause and effect from a middle link, much like a small child who thinks the ultimate source of food is the refrigerator. Starting with the “widening wage gap”, he goes directly to his solution: an array of warmed-over Marxist redistribution schemes.  Sen. Edwards’ analysis omits the problem’s root cause: the government’s dysfunctional K-12 education system. 

The missing question: Why the “widening wage gap”?

The widening wage gap reflects a widening skills gap.  The widening skills gap reflects the fact that America enjoys the world’s greatest colleges and universities; and suffers with the industrial world’s worst K-12 education. 

Decades ago, Americans with this substandard K-12 education were insulated from international competition.  No longer.  All Americans now compete in a one-world labor market.  Americans without college educations are competing at a disadvantage against their better-educated Asian and European counterparts.  University-educated Americans are seeing their living standards improve, owing to cheaper imported goods and better skills than their Asian and European counterparts. 

What to do?  Stop crippling America’s children.

Customers of America’s colleges and universities, the world’s best, have the power to choose their own school.  Hundreds of colleges and universities must compete for their business.  In contrast, customers of our K-12 face only one choice: the government’s. 

Reform America’s public education so that the customers of our K-12 education service, the parents of America’s school-aged children, have this power, the power to choose a school for their own children.