ernors and state legislators whose budgets
are being overwhelmed by Medicaid’s exploding costs,
driven in part by corporate America’s reduction in
benefits paid to employees.
AND WHAT SHOULD GOVERNMENT DO?
Friedman argues that we must all learn to
truly “think globally and act locally.” He writes
that government at all levels must be actively involved in
dealing with our flatter world. For instance, our public
leaders should do the following.
1. Educate us about the challenges we face. State, federal and local leaders must help
people understand that we face enormous challenges, and give us
the confidence that we can deal with these challenges if we
take certain actions.
2. Show us why it is now necessary to
continually upgrade our skills.
This is the best strategy for remaining employable in a flat
world. Yes, many jobs that can be digitized are heading for India,
China, and other developing countries. But other jobs are being
created here, and they are going to the people with the
knowledge and skills to seize them. Friedman’s advice to
his own girls is this: “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:
girls, finish your homework—people in China and India are
starving for your jobs” (p. 237). More specifically,
Friedman believes that employees can avoid seeing their jobs outsourced
by
a. Being specialized at skills that
aren’t fungible (can’t be easily digitized and
given to low wage workers elsewhere);
b. Being anchored—having a job
that must be done at a specific location (e.g., nurses,
craftsmen); and
c. Being adaptable—this
involves not only upgrading skills, but more importantly,
learning how to learn.
3. Create portable benefits and wage
insurance, to help unemployed workers. One way to support workers whose jobs are threatened
by the new economy is through the creation of a universal
portable pension program, consolidating a confusing set of tax
deferred options now offered. Another is to create a
“wage insurance” program that would compensate
workers for two years who were laid off because of outsourcing
or offshoring, while they learn new skills needed for the
global economy.
4. Become much smarter about finding
alternative sources of energy, and taking steps to increase
energy conservation. Friedman urges
current and future US Presidents to develop a crash program for
alternative energy and conservation, to make us energy
independent in ten years. Consider this: In April, 2004, 1,433
cars were added daily to the streets of Beijing. China’s
thirst for oil will be very difficult to meet, as it adds
millions of new cars each year. And it is acting very
aggressively to ensure continuing sources of oil. Similar
trends are being seen in
several other Asian countries. The days of
cheap oil in the US are over; they aren’t coming back. We
must make an Apollo Project like effort to eliminate our
reliance on other countries’ energy sources, and that
will take leadership at all levels, starting in the White
House.
The corporate and nonprofit sectors should
also play an important role in dealing with our increasingly
“flat world,” Friedman argues. He cites the trend
toward a new collaborative social activism, uniting companies
and watchdog nonprofits in a search for environmentally
friendly production methods. An intriguing example is the
partnership between McDonald’s and Conservation
International, a huge environmental organization. Their
partnership began in 2002. Leaders of both organizations looked
at the activities of the contractors involved in supplying McDonald’s
with the burgers, fries and other foods it uses, and came up with
changes in how they grow potatoes, harvest fish, etc., that
would reduce the environmental impact of their work with little
or no impact on cost.
Conservation International has noted
increased conservation of water and energy since these changes
went into effect. That’s not surprising; when a huge
multinational like McDonald’s agrees to require its suppliers
to make certain changes, the ripples are seen in hundreds of
companies around the world. A similar concept being tried in
the high tech arena, where Dell, HP and IBM formed an alliance
in 2004. They are pushing for a code of socially responsible
manufacturing practices around the world, aimed at their huge
networks of suppliers. Called the electronics industry code of
conduct, it bans child labor and embezzlement, includes rules
on using wastewater and hazardous materials, and promotes
regulations on occupational safety.
This flat world described by Friedman is
exciting and unsettling. Most Americans don’t understand
yet the nature of the new economic and political environment,
but they do know that things are changing. And they know that
these changes are wrenching for those directly affected.
Government and business leaders must help us deal with the
transformations going on around us, and they can start that
process by educating people on the nature of the challenge, and
the ways in which we can meet it. 
For more information:
Russell M. Linden, PhD
Principal
Principal
Russ Linden & Assoc.
609 E. Market St.
Suite 206
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 979-6421