The United States used to be a resource, production and export powerhouse. It extracted resources from the ground, manufactured a wide variety of goods, and exported goods to the rest of the world. However, in the new technology age, things have changed. Labour talent has now become the key to the global economy in the technology age.
In the technology age, what mattered were the skills and capacities of the labour force, or the “labour talent”. The new economy was global, and it was based on a new resource, the talent resource. The United States did not develop the talent resource at anywhere near the speed and quantity of many competing nations, and as such, is now in a dangerous situation. Without re-developing the educational system to create the skills needed in the new economy, and doing so quickly, the economic sustainability of the United States remains in risk. This is because there is an increasing need for new scientists and engineers. To further compound this problem, the baby boomers trained in technical roles will retire, and not enough technical candidates are being trained to replace the retirees. In the future, the United States may not be able to participate in the high-end economy, in sufficient quantity, but may be forced to participate in low skilled economy.