The budget has been so distracting to me, that it’s difficult to concentrate on President Obama having another Lee Iacocca moment this time inside the Intel campus in Oregon. This is not a resurrection story for Intel but a message for the future of American jobs. The path, as this administration sees it, is “innovation” through advanced education. Once upon a time a high school diploma could get you on an assembly line in Detroit, a decent wage, pension. What are the business models for the future? It seemed when everyone and anyone was going to college, tuition skyrocketed. Admission criteria got more competitive. Many college graduates are looking at mounting student loans.
Nevertheless, the Washington Post reported today that those most adversely affected by the economic downturn, African Americans and Hispanic Americans, feel hopeful based on a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard University poll. White Americans were found to be less optimistic. News media likes a race story, and I try not to indulge them much, but the article is worth the read. Check it out here. The economy poll is in someways a snapshot of what’s coming down the road in 2012. E-bert and I had a talk about this earlier today. You can read the poll results here. I try not to indulge polls either, but the findings confirm some observations outside the bubble.