Competitiveness - Part 1

One of the words we've heard a lot of in the presidential campaign is competitiveness, as the candidates try to show voters that they understand their concerns about declining jobs. The answer is invariably education; if we all just get degrees, especially graduate degrees, we will retain jobs and create new prosperity.

Then you look at the jobs that are projected to grow, and you see home health care workers, restaurant workers, and the like. These are jobs which, while important, are not degree-requiring or particularly lucrative. So where is this mismatch, and how do we resolve it?

I'm planning to write a series of posts on this, as I work out in my own mind how we might resolve this. I will start with a question: does the U.S. really know what it is to compete?