Tracking the Creative Class: The Exodus of US Grey Matter

Perhaps the most often overlooked casualty of the red and blue culture wars are the shades of gray being slowly squeezed out of existence by a counter renaissance of black and white thinking. Many in thriving blue state metropolises once joked about leaving the US for good after the 2004 single digit "mandate" for young earth creationism, low taxes for billionaires, expensive healthcare and the reduction of state approved love to a physical definition of opposing sexual organs. And many Wal-Mart cashiers in NASCAR country said good riddance.

Well, they're leaving.

Richard Florida, Tracking the "Creative Class"

Weekend Edition - Sunday, May 22, 2005 · Three years ago, Richard Florida argued in his book The Rise of the Creative Class that artists and entrepreneurs, scientists and health care professionals drive American business innovation. Cities and regions will thrive by providing an open, tolerant environment for "cultural creatives," he said.

Now the public policy professor has taken his argument global in a new book: The Flight of the Creative Class. He also sounds an alarm: the United States may be on the verge of losing its competitive edge in attracting innovators.

If low taxes and business friendly environments alone sparked growth, then North Cackalacky, Kansas would be the hub of civilization. Yet as Florida argues, creative people are driven by much more than income, they crave freedom. And not the kind that let's you pick your oppressor, the real kind... The melting pot kind, the kind that made America a superpower not mired in old world thinking, the kind that makes the best and brightest willing to die to come to here. But maybe not any more.

The article excerpt talks about just one example of unprecedented Hollywood dollars moving to New Zealand, but any glance of the news this morning tells the story all it's own. Leading scientists leaving American research centers for science friendly London. Kansas at war with science. Church at war with state. State at war with media. Republican majority at war with dissent. And Bush at war with stem cells.

America really could be a third world nation of iconic merchants and religious zealots sitting in a contaminated cess pool in less than a handful of generations. Of course, the religious zealots don't care since they'll be raptured any day now as a reward for their disasterous anti-American handi-work. Just go now. Really.

I'm hopeful that although the situation may be bad, we'll stay. There are a few nice spots in Europe and Asia, but America is still number one.

This does, however, undermine a growing problem. The fallout from an ailing nation is increasingly widespread, and every day the need to reverse our recent "progress" grows more and more urgent. We've got some time, I think, but we need to use it wisely.

Not only has the moratorium on brains led to a bloodletting of innovative thinkers in the United States, but it has also deterred the foreign talent that used to flock to our universities and Fortune 500 companies from coming here in the first place.

After 9/11, it has become increasingly more difficult for foreign students, especially those that wish to pursue graduate studies in science, engineering and mathematics, to obtain visas. Also, hearing the steady drumbeat of news regarding American policies that regard foreigners as having no rights or recourse has certainly discouraged people from coming here--whether it is to work, study, or even visit.

The impact has certainly been felt in industry, and although the United States is still the leader in scientific innovation, this will change if the bureaucratic immigration policies, pervasive attitude of intolerance, and penchant for junk science remain in place. According to a 2004 National Science Board Report, the number of Americans qualified to work in scientific fields is rapidly declining, there are significantly fewer new college grads in these fields, and China and South Korea are poised to eat out lunch.

Also, another key statistic to keep in mind is that almost 40% of all doctorate holders working in the U.S. in science and engineering fields are foreign born. Chasing these people out of the country will have a serious impact--and I have a feeling that forcing their kids to learn about the Garden of Eden in school will have more to do with it than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

www.npr.org...
fdncenter.org
www.signonsandiego.com

//ed to shorten lnks//

[edit on 22-5-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

Originally posted by lmgnyc
Not only has the moratorium on brains led to a bloodletting of innovative thinkers in the United States, but it has also deterred the foreign talent that used to flock to our universities and Fortune 500 companies from coming here in the first place.

There was a great op-ed piece about this in the Time late last year. It has become a real problem as of late, and very little is being done to catch it. The story detailed was of a Muslim man who was invited to teach at a US university on very short notice. He was world renowned, as was his father. He wasn't allowed to enter the border for quite a bit of time, and there was a relatively large response at the time.

We're becoming less and less desirable, through politics, military, but also through educational and technological means. Our education departmen has always been lacking compared to other nations, but when we start limiting the research being done here (eg, Stem Cells) we're basically capping the country's potential.

Special U.S. visa approved for Australians
US offers Australians working visas
US eases visa restrictions for Australians
Special U.S. visa approved for Australians
US eases work visas for Australians
US eases work visas for Australians
US eases work visas for Australians

Reward for going to Iraq? I doubt it. Nothing says "thankyou" like luring away a nation's brightest sparks....

Either that or someone is desperate for Australians. The money would have to be pretty enticing though. At least for me.


[edit on 23-5-2005 by cargo]