] Although in recent years the proportion of our labor
] force made up of those with at least some college has
] continued to grow, we appear, nonetheless, to be
] graduating too few skilled workers to address the
] apparent imbalance between the supply of such workers and
] the burgeoning demand for them. Perhaps the accelerated
] pace of high-tech equipment installations associated with
] the large increases in productivity growth in recent
] years is placing unachievable demands for skilled
] graduates over the short run. If the apparent
] acceleration in the demand for skilled workers to staff
] our high-tech capital stock is temporary as many presume,
] the pressure on our schools would ease as would the
] upward pressure on high-skilled wages.

In english: "We needed a lot of engineers to set up the new infrastructure over the past few years. Admins, Programmers, Network Engineers, etc... We're done doing that now. We don't need ya'll anymore. Thanks for all the productivity growth. I'm sure you can find a suitable job in another industry at a significant reduction in pay. You can rest assured that the overall economy has benefited greatly from your work. We're not planning to share the rewards with you, because you don't own it. We own it. We're looking for people who own stock to do really well in the coming years. We're exited about that, and we think you ought to be excited for us. Oh, and BTW, I'm cutting your pension. Have a nice day."

There is a very good reason why Alan Greenspan is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. It is unfortunate that John Edwards' "average Americans" do not pay more attention to the things that Greenspan tells them. Consider the 30-minute nightly local newscast; how much time is spent on Greenspan as compared to sports?

A critical aspect of wealth creation is the level of knowledge and skill of the population. Today, the knowledge required to run the economy, which is far more complex than in our past, is both deeper and broader than ever before. We need to ensure that education, formal or otherwise, is supplying skills adequate for the effective functioning of our economy.

The real income earned by a worker depends importantly on his or her intelligence and skill. ... The never-ending necessity to learn new skills is due to the gradually but inexorably changing nature of our economy. ... This rising complexity has required the labor force to be more and more technically oriented.

We need to be forward looking in order to adapt our educational system to the evolving needs of the economy and the realities of our changing society. Those efforts will require the collaboration of policymakers, education experts, and -- importantly -- our citizens.

It is an effort that should not be postponed.