Engineering and Science Jobs in America

Not that long ago, many scientists and engineers were employed in research laboratories funded by industrial companies, as well as the Federal Government. Most of the "research" was applied in nature, leading usually to new products that were always part of the lifeblood of American innovation. At the beginning of my career, I was employed in two such labs, one run by the Navy, and the other at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, in Youngstown, Ohio. Many of these facilities are now closed (like those where I worked), their functions "outsourced" in some way or not performed at all. Many of the companies that supported such efforts are either mere skeletons of their former selves, or have disappeared altogether. As a result, research expenditures in both government and private sectors have decreased markedly from levels that were typical in the 1950's.

Enter Mr. Fareed Zakaria, an American who immigrated here from India as a young man. His writing appears regularly in Time magazine, and he also appears on cable TV news channels. In an article in the November 1, 2010 issue of Time, he points out that we can restore the American Dream, if we shift our focus from consumption to investment. He writes, "Everyone agrees that the best way to create good jobs in the U.S. is to create new industries and companies and to innovate within old ones. This means large investments in research, technology and development." (I recommend the entire article, and his program "Restoring the American Dream: A Fareed Zakaria GPS Special", scheduled to air this coming weekend.)

Mr. Zakaria proposes that much of this effort be paid for with a 5% national sales tax, partially offset by a small reduction in the income tax. This money would restore government funding for R & D to the same level that it was in the 1950's, about 6% of GDP. I agree with that proposal, and would go a step further. I believe that we should also restore the private industrial research capability of the nation, and pay for it with the billions of dollars that corporations are currently holding as cash reserves, and can't figure out what to do with. Every company that sets up, or expands an R & D lab within the U.S. would get an additional tax credit equal to the expenditures on any such facility and the jobs created. Hiring preference must also be given to current U.S. citizens or residents.

This would further stimulate the economy, as an investment vehicle, and not as part of some temporary (and ultimately damaging) government "stimulus" package. Returns to shareholders would result from the products developed and patents generated by these labs, as was the case in the past. The companies and their shareholders would, of course, need to have sufficient patience to allow these efforts to bloom, rather than scrap these labs at the first sign of a temporary profit decrease, as was done in the past.

Not only would restoring industrial research to prominence benefit the companies involved, but the jobs created thereby would be highly paid and prestigious, and encourage some of our best and brightest young people to take up technical career paths, something that we sorely need to restore our nation to greatness. While having access to some of the world's great minds is good for us, we do ourselves a disservice by not encouraging our own youngsters to pursue these fascinating and potentially lucrative careers.

Perhaps, if we are willing to really invest in our future generations, and not go for the quick fixes of tax cuts, easy credit and increased consumption just for it's own sake, we can restore America and ensure that the country we leave to our grandchildren is better than the one we inherited.