America can't make things because managers all learn finance instead of production provides one more thread in the complexity and confusion of the American business model. In attempt to find the engineers we need we turn to the H1B visa program which, of course, is under the domain of the Conlobs (congress plus lobbyists) in Washington.
There is, of course, an underlying question here.
What should American be making? There are two ways to come to the answer. One is to let the rest of the world tell you what you can do (reminds me of the Melian Dialogue). That is what is happening now. I read the other day that America's share of steel production is down to 7 percent. I don't know whether this ought to be higher, but I'm pretty sure it didn't get to 7 percent because that is what Americans wanted to do.
Second, America can try its hand at designing a sustainable economy. There are bits and pieces of this going on. Senge (Senge, P., & Carstedt, G. (2001). Innovating our way to the next industrial revolution. MIT Sloan Management Review, 42(2), 24-28) is an example of this. But the dialog needs to become more urgent and more inclusive.
I've started my students, particularly in the transportation management class (A New Paradigm for Transportation), on the path of looking ahead. I think I need to ramp this up in my other courses.
James Drogan
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