Gates: "Where are the computer science students" 4156

rkusenet

I have to disagree with this one, at least in part. A *huge* fraction of America's economic growth has been rooted in technical innovation and insane levels of hard work. In the world, there are only so many people capable or willing to provide either of these, in the quanbreasty necessary to create breakthroughs. Fortunately, in the past 100+ years, such folks often have chosen to come to the US, to the land of opportunity. America has benefited enormously from such innovators and entrepreneurs. We really can't afford to send these people elsewhere.

That doesn't mean we can realistically live up to, "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled mbuttes yearning to breathe free." America does not benefit to a comparable degree when it comes to immigrating the undereducated or those disinclined to work hard.

I don't know exactly how to strike the right balance between encouraging America's technical and commercial growth through immigration and furthering our historical ideals in welcoming those who simply want a better life.

But it seems to me that it *starts* by our being honest with ourselves and each other in terms of buttessing the costs and trade offs involved. As long as US business and government lie to the people in pursuit of cheap labor, the rift between us and them is just going to grow.

I can't. AFAIK, American cars can be imported into Japan without undue obstacles. But they won't be imported as long as we fail to build cars with right hand drive, as long as our cars are less reliable, deliver lower MPG, and are too large for their streets and parking spaces.

Japan is not that fruitful a potential market anyway. The US has 2.5 auto manufacturers and they have, what, 10?

The Japanese are also famous for xenophobia and nationalism. They're unlikely to buy outside Japan even if all other criteria *were* equal.

The alternative is to *not* have the cars built here. That way we would lose 100% of their production costs. This way we manage to employ a few Americans.

Randy