Free Republic

A report on Internet speed in the United States says the country isn’t likely to catch world leader South Korea for 15 years. Or for much longer — at current growth rates, the United States will only reach South Korea’s speed today in 15 years. The report, by the Communications Workers of America, details Internet download and upload speeds all over the United States and some of its affiliated territories. In the last year, the average upload speed in the United States “barely changed,” the report said, and download speed only grew a little, from 4.2 megabits per second in...

I recently sat down with a reporter from the Ukrainian Service of the Voice of America to talk about the impact that lawsuit abuse is having on America’s small businesses. It seems she had stumbled across our Web site, IAmLawsuitAbuse.org, which brings home the sad reality that lawsuit abuse hurts working families and neighborhood businesses. As someone who is still trying to understand the unique legal culture of the U.S., the foreign-born reporter was shocked that even the most ridiculous of lawsuits has the potential to destroy a business or force it to lay off employees.

The Air Force Tanker Deal By Thomas Lifson The next generation of Air Force in-flight filling stations is slated to ride on the wings of an airplane designed in France. A consortium of Northrop-Grumman and Airbus beat Boeing for the contract to supply the next generation of Air Force tankers. Critics decry a job loss from outsourcing, fret at dependence on foreign suppliers for the capacity to fuel our strategic global reach, and don't want their tax dollars heading toward Europe. But it is worth at least considering the view that the brass are planning a canny game of strategy, looking...

Abstract: The founders of the United States considered intellectual property worthy of a special place in the Constitution - “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” In today's knowledge-based economy, capturing value from intellectual capital and knowledge-based assets has gained even more importance. Global competition is no longer for the control of raw materials, but for this productive knowledge. This paper is the third in a series of studies focusing on immigrants' contributions to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy....

Average SAT scores at lowest since 1999 By JUSTIN POPE, AP Education Writer The class of 2007 averaged the lowest math and reading SAT scores since 1999, the College Board reported Tuesday. Last spring's high school seniors scored on average 502, out of a possible 800 points, on the critical reading section of the country's most popular college entrance exam, down from 503 for the class of 2006. Math scores fell three points from 518 to 515. The declines follow a seven-point drop last year for the first class to take a lengthened and redesigned SAT, which included higher-level math...

The results of the 2007 edition of IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook highlight a big shake-up in economic and business power. Emerging nations are quickly catching up in competitiveness. New companies and new brands are appearing all over the world. They now contest the long-standing competitive supremacy of industrialized nations. “This could lead to an increase in protectionist measures in Europe and the US”, says Professor Stéphane Garelli, Director of IMD’s World Competitiveness Center. Of the 55 economies ranked by IMD, the US still ranks No. 1 in 2007, closely followed by Singapore and Hong Kong. However, 40 economies are now...

China is increasing its competitiveness in the nanotechnology market, according to research announced Friday. The United States is still a leader in nanotech, but the low cost of doing business in China is boosting that country's ranking for nanotech research and development investments, according to a report that Lux Research released Friday. Public and private groups invested $12.4 billion in the industry's research and development worldwide in 2006, while companies sold more than $50 billion worth of nano-enabled products, according to the report, "Profiting from International Nanotechnology." Lux researchers viewed government spending, patents, publications, and other metrics to analyze the...

With high school students under mounting pressure to achieve high grades and gain acceptance to select colleges, a new trend is taking hold—getting rid of class rankings, which some say just intensify the pressure teens already feel in the competitive college application environment. A recent story in Time reports that Naperville, IL, noted for its excellent school system, has jettisoned the rankings, which colleges have traditionally used to sort the academically weak from the strong. The rankings will be phased out over the next year; 2007's upperclassmen will choose whether to include a rank in their official transcripts, Time reports....

The United States has drtopped from 1st place to 6th in this important report. America is no longer the most competitive economy in the world. Basically, you should fire anyone who isn't doing their job, or complain to a manager if an employee is not doing their job. Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are the world’s most competitive economies according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, released by the World Economic Forum on 26 September 2006. Denmark, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom complete the top ten list, but the United States shows the most...

China has slipped six places to 54th in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) global competitiveness rankings, a report said yesterday. Due to cautious macro-economic management, China is enjoying buoyant growth rates, low inflation, one of the highest savings rates in the world, and manageable levels of public debt, the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report (2006-07) said. However, a number of structural weaknesses need to be addressed, including those in the largely State-controlled banking sector, the report warned. China also has low penetration rates for technologies such as the Internet and personal computers, and its secondary and tertiary school enrolment rates are...

28 September 2006 Forum sees threat to U.S. economyISA InTech, September 28, 2006 The U.S.’s huge budget is not good news, said the World Economic Forum. The Wall Street Journal reported the institute’s annual study of global competitiveness said the U.S. economy is the sixth most competitive in the world, slipping from first place in last year’s ranking. The competitiveness study ranks countries according to a range of criteria—including macroeconomic policies, market regulations, technological development, education systems, and public institutions—that the forum believes influence an economy’s level of productivity, and thereby its ability to sustain economic growth over many years....

...His team was down by one and there were two outs. There was a man on third, and his team's power hitter was up, so Romney thought the game would be over. Then the other team intentionally walked the power hitter on Romney's team. Romney said he was shocked. Romney got up to bat and struck out. His team ended up losing by one run. Romney's father couldn't believe the opposing coaches intentionally walked a better hitter to face his son, a cancer survivor who needs a shunt in his brain just to live...

With virtually no mention in the mainstream media, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez convened on June 15, the first meeting of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), an apparently extra-constitutional advisory group organized by the Department of Commerce (DOC) under the auspices of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). A March 31 press release on the White House website, under the title “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: Progress,” announced the formation of the NACC. The press release noted that the NACC would meet annually “with security and prosperity Ministers and will engage with senior government officials on an...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryJuly 8, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      In Focus: Jobs & Economy      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I visited the city of Chicago. In that great city, and across America, our strong and growing economy is creating jobs and delivering prosperity to more of our people. In the Chicago area, businesses have added more than 74,000 new jobs over the past two years. And in Illinois, the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 percent, the lowest rate there in over 5-and-a-half years.  Radio Address 200620052004200320022001  Radio Interviews 20052004 We have good...

In his recent bestseller, "The World Is Flat," Thomas Friedman warned Americans about the challenges of an era of increased globalization and international competition. In an ever "flattening" world, many jobs can easily be outsourced to skilled, lower-cost workers in other countries. Today, American workers have to compete against workers from around the world. Friedman explained what this should mean to American students by recounting a warning he offered his daughters: "Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, 'Tom, finish your dinner. People in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is:...

Detroit narrows productivity gapISA News, June 7, 2006 The big three automakers are gaining on their Japanese rivals vis-à-vis the number of hours to make a car. The dollar-per-hour problem remains. The Wall Street Journal reported the companies have nearly closed the productivity gap with U.S. factories owned by Japanese automakers. The 2006 edition of the Harbour Report on North American auto-factory productivity found the average number of labor hours General Motors Corp. took to build a vehicle in North America last year had fallen to 33.19 hours, only 41 minutes of labor more than it took Honda Motor Co....

BALTIMORE - Dismal new results on U.S. student performance in science ought to spur Congress to pass President Bush’s competitiveness agenda this year — and to extend his “No Child Left Behind” program to high schools. The competitiveness agenda — which includes scholarships aimed at producing 10,000 more science teachers per year as well as increases in U.S. research funding — has bipartisan support but is moving slowly through Congress.Markups of key legislation have yet to take place in the House or Senate, and leaders have yet to schedule floor time for the bills, which could represent a major success...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – NASA lacks the money to support vigorous science research while building the international space station and returning astronauts to the moon, according to a report released Thursday by the National Research Council. The end result, the scientists warned, will be further erosion of the nation's leadership in scientific research.“NASA is being asked to accomplish too much with too little,'' said the document, prepared by a panel of scientists at the request of Congress. The proposed 2007 budget for the space agency could weaken programs for space and earth science, jeopardize national research goals and stunt...

The competitiveness of China’s manufacturing industries has suffered serious erosion over the past year, according to one of the world’s largest trade sourcing companies. (Snip ...)

For Immediate ReleaseFebruary 25, 2006 President's Radio Address      Audio      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. On Sunday and Monday, I will meet with America's governors during their annual gathering in Washington, D.C. As a former governor, I appreciate the work of these fine public servants. I look forward to talking with them about the challenges and opportunities facing their states and our nation and discussing how leaders of both parties can work together to solve problems for our citizens. One of the most important issues we will discuss is how to improve health care for the American people, and we have...