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Dr. Robert D. Atkinson discusses what he believes is the real reason for the financial collapse and Great Recession.
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You may have noticed yesterday.
That the House Intelligence Committee yesterday took the extraordinary step.
Of calling out to Chinese.
Telecom country companies.
And asking US businesses asking municipalities asking infrastructures here in the United States not to do business with -- one of those while way the other one with ZTE.
There's concerns that these particular companies these Chinese companies.
May have had some sort of ties are may have ties to the Chinese Government.
That might give them access the government access to information going on here in the United States and that might also compromise.
Certain.
Intellectual property.
That companies may have here in the US -- the Chinese Government so an extraordinary step but it kind of underscores an issue here in the United States.
We have been a nation of innovators.
The automobile with a cell -- many other opt out.
Things that are part of our everyday life -- -- here but kind of I sent abroad and manufactured in other places well now some of those countries including China -- becoming big players in the various fields that the United States use to dominate.
And talk about this a little bit and find out whether or not the United States.
Has had.
Lost its edge if you will in terms.
It's technology and innovation.
Is a doctor Robert and it consumed the president of the information technology and innovation foundation.
-- he joins us out of the New York studio for -- thanks for joining us we're all week he the United States in terms of technology innovation development are we still the leader.
No we're actually not still the leader there a number of countries that are ahead of us countries like Singapore and Korea.
We Sweden Finland now those are small countries but but the real problem is that we used to be the undisputed leader than in the last decade we've fallen behind.
Other countries are racing ahead.
And if we don't wake up pretty soon we're gonna keep falling behind and keep losing more jobs that we really should have here in America.
Is it that we have become the purchaser of these things instead of the innovator of these things that we now you know -- are are being introduced to the iPad and you know other devices I mean is it that we have developed these things in just sent the RR technology abroad I mean where where's the disconnect here.
Well it's that and it's more than that we we lost a third of our manufacturing jobs in the last decade and in most of those jobs were lost because of better productivity there were lost because.
We just moved -- for jobs offshore other countries countries can pick out competed us.
But we're also losing it on on innovation you know one -- -- -- -- it's hard pressed to see that in the US because we see the iPad and a and the iPhone and Google and FaceBook and all.
But there's a lot of innovations that we never see is consumers that are beating the innovations and and in a lot of those areas lasers robotics things like that.
Word -- not even on the on the playing field anymore.
And that's a big challenge for us -- we want to have a fast growing high wage economy we've got to be able innovate.
And produce across a wide array of sectors.
But I mean what when you talk about losing manufacturing jobs and we've lost manufacturing jobs since the end of World War II if you take a look of your labor statistics that line on that -- -- steadily going.
In decline -- and largely that's thought to be because.
Eight today's workers are much more efficient march more productive and be that some of the stuff that we do here in the United States that's been shipped abroad.
Because quite frankly the label prices are cheaper.
Well I think the fact we actually haven't lost manufacturing jobs in the ninety's for example we only lost 2% of our manufacturing jobs.
In this decade we lost.
33%.
And productivity was pretty much the same in both decades.
So really wasn't the fact that we had superior productivity this is story that a lot of people tell.
But when you dig into the data as we've done and our new book you find out that that really wasn't true not only that but we now are you a decade ago we ran about a hundred billion dollar trade surplus and high technology goods and today we're running about a hundred billion dollar trade deficit.
In high technology -- itself.
Yeah there's a lot of things were not going to be able to make in this country because of low wages and other countries you know things like commodity textiles.
But advanced technology equipment.
Airplanes that these things kind of things we should be making and we should be having a big trade surplus -- them.
And then how we if you have a magic -- how -- we changed the landscape so we can become you know on the plus side of that ledger now.
Well in the book we talk about what was the four tees that we've got to get right as a country we've got have a better tax code.
We now have the highest corporate tax rate in the world in pretty close to the highest effective corporate tax rate in the world.
Other countries and cutting their corporate taxes we've got to -- the same.
We've got invest more in science and engineering.
Other country again racing ahead there we haven't been able to do got.
We've got to do more on kills.
Especially with scientists and engineers the last part we've got to do a better job of enforcing trade rules -- particularly with countries like China.
India Brazil that are really trying to manipulator cheat their way to innovation advantage we've got to be tougher on them and say you can't do that.
-- Brackins and thank you very much for joining us I know this is going to be a topic is going to be discussed going for particularly in the presidential campaign in the final days thank you very much thank you my pleasure.
