Globalization and our failing education system: A clear and pesent danger.

• Position: Speech

It's an honor to receive this award. A few years ago the term "Citizen of the World" might have described a person who was well-traveled, or a diplomat who worked across geographical and political boundaries.

But in today's global economy everyone is connected. It's just as easy for me to call or send a message to one of our customers in Pretoria, South Africa as it is to Peoria, Illinois.

As you know a global economy is a two-edged sword. While it means that new markets and opportunities are open to American firms, it also means that everyone else in the world can compete for our markets.

It wasn't that long ago that Mt. Airy, about 138 miles from this room, was the undisputed leader in hosiery.

Today, the hosiery capital of the world has moved more than eight thousand miles from here to Tirupur, India. And there are many other such examples from the textile and furniture industries.

Back in the late 1990s everyone was worried that computers around the world would crash at the stroke of 12 midnight on December 31, 1999. Companies outsourced the tedious task of code checking to places like India. And when Y2K came and went those same organizations began bidding on other information technology projects. Their new expertise, combined with their experience and low cost, made them competitive with American companies.

In the 2007 book titled Dancing with Giants the authors point out that China and India's "vast labor forces and expanding skills imply massive productive potential." The United States must be prepared to counter this huge Asian potential.

A few weeks ago, October 4, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik.

I was in ninth grade in Wilmington at the time. Our country was shocked! We thought we were the greatest nation on earth, but suddenly realized that if the Soviets could put a satellite in orbit, they could rain down their nuclear weapons on us at the press of a button. To borrow a phrase from Tom Clancy, we were faced with a clear and present danger.

The country mobilized. Congress mobilized. They passed the National Defense Education Act, and President Eisenhower signed it in 1958. It gave money and grants to universities, high schools, middle schools, even private schools, to get involved with more science and math and to fund research labs. It poured money into our school systems to stimulate teaching and interest in engineering.

Kids were going off to college like they were going off to war. I...