James Drogan

Why?

Like so much of what proposes to pass as journalism, this article gives no information on the root causes of the problem. 

Perhaps this occurs because, as the article implies, there is little encouragement in primary and secondary education. 

I would offer two other hypotheses.

1. It's hard work and the American  culture increasingly argues against hard work.  This is something that Dave and I have discussed at some length (search on "Conversations with Dave" in this site for excerpts from these conversations.)
2. More money can be made elsewhere.  Finance, despite its recent travails,  is an example.

I'm convinced that economic growth and all it underpins depends upon innovation.  Innovation, in turn, depends on the disciplines that are part of the computer-related degree course of study.

I'll add that the request by business for more H1-B visas is not so that we can attract more construction workers to America, but so we can get the computer-related skills we need.