The article by two accounting professors
describes the critical shortage of science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM) graduates. The U.S. creates 1.3
million new openings in this field each year, but produces fewer than 600,000
candidates to fill these jobs. Leave it
to the accountants to put their finger on the economics of the shortage: Student
debt now exceeds $1.3 trillion; education expenses are increasing while educational
excellence is decreasing.
So what are we doing to correct the
problem? Apparently not much. The government offers student loans, with
unsophisticated youths becoming hopelessly locked into debt, so that fewer and
fewer opt for the demanding science majors.
The fact this nation permits such a vital resource as STEM graduates to
be caught up in the general student loan debacle is unconscionable.
I have a suggestion: Full government
scholarship, with no repayment requirements for these students, is called for. I realize what I’ve just proposed won’t go
over well, particularly because the students selected must, by necessity, be
those with high prior academic performance.
But in the crafting of the legislation establishing the program,
there’ll be claims of discrimination by those who invariably champion the
causes of those groups which traditionally display low academic performance.
However, as we know, the U.S. has been subsidizing countless giveaways
for all sorts of purposes. Last year the
Department of Agriculture provided food stamps to 46.5 million persons, while
the Department of Housing and Urban Development distributed $110 billion in
rental housing vouchers to “deserving recipients.” Is it improper if a program with the
potential to be vitally beneficial to the nation is added to the list? I think not.
Perhaps what is best for the country will, for a change, win out.
Let me add a final thought: If America is to continue to thrive in a competitive
and increasingly technological world, it must encourage, and if necessary
subsidize, its more talented citizens to strive for achievement in the physical
sciences. It’s a hostile world we
inhabit; we must generate the scientists and technicians we need if we’re to
survive.
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If you enjoy this weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, The Road to Prosperity
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