Bill Gates can’t do it

Lou Guzzo, a respected journalist, writes at WhackyNation:

Why, then, don’t Gates and Microsoft establish a school or college or their own in which high-caliber students are trained for the jobs Gates wants to fill with foreign imports?

Lou also argues that somehow importing talented individuals from India, China, and elsewhere is somehow bad for our country.First, protectionism is just plain wrong-headed. If we can’t compete on a level playing field with foreign countries, we’d do even worse if we tried to tip the field in our favor. It is better to simply allow the market to run its course, let people win and lose, and hope for the best. History has shown that our hopes in the free market are always well-founded, providing us with unanticipated benefits.

Second, I hope America will always be the “big leagues” when it comes to economic activity. I hope we will always, now and forever, not only welcome individuals who want to play in our game here in the US, but actively recruit them, as we would a sports athlete. If we ever stop importing talent, actively or passively, that will be a sad day for the US of A. Our country isn’t what it is due to inbreeding. We are great because we bring the best from the rest of the world in. We bring them in with their hopes and dreams and ideals and culture, and they add it to the great heap that makes up our country, and we all benefit from it.

Third, Bill Gates is doing everything in his power to help make America better, especially in the education regard. He is a talented business leader. The things he is doing are carefully calculated so as to provide the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people.

It would be nice to establish a good college or program. But that is thinking too small. Instead, Bill Gates is trying to revolutionize the entire education industry. He is trying to mold the political debate, the role of government, parents, and students, so that we can get the best product possible. Think “computer on every desktop” but applied to education.

Maybe he is trying something too big, or maybe he is fighting a battle he isn’t sure he can win. Regardless, Bill Gates has the fortune and the drive and the right mentality to do it, if anyone can do it.

But Lou, and everyone else, let’s not forget that Bill Gates is only one man with one incredible fortune. It is us, doing what we do best, that can really change things.

For me, that means making sure my children get the best education possible, which is only to be found in my home at this time. For you, maybe that means you should be volunteering or working in your community to help build a new school, or to start a new program at Seattle U.

We each have our talents, and we should each do the best we can.