Dallas Fed President Richard W. Fisher discusses the importance of improving the educational system of the United States to more effectively compete in the global marketplace.Service industries ; Education - Economic aspects

Richard W. Fisher

English

Research Papers in Economics

    President’sPerspective
Our future prosperity 
depends on fulfilling 
our duty to educate   
students and prepare 
them for success—to 
teach them to love   
to learn.
When I was a child, my mother took me 
twice a month to the local grocery store to 
purchase the latest installment of the Golden 
Book Encyclopedia. She insisted I read each 
one, cover to cover, before I could “earn” the 
next one.
As she put it: “You can’t expect to get by 
in America just relying on your looks or ath-
letic ability.” She knew her son would need 
to develop mental muscles to succeed in this 
world. She insisted that I “learn to love to 
learn.” 
My mother’s advice rings just as true today.
Much of the farm and factory work that 
once  powered  American  economic  growth 
has shifted to China, India and other newly 
capitalist societies. We still produce superb 
agricultural and manufactured products, but 
today they account for only about 12 per-
cent of our aggregate output. Our economy 
is increasingly dominated by the service-pro-
viding sector. The engine that drives it is the human brain. A highly educated 
workforce has made the U.S. a global leader in high-tech industries, research 
and sophisticated services—where employers offer higher pay and better work-
ing conditions.
To maintain our nation’s competitive edge, we must stay a step or two 
ahead of the rest of the world. We must make a conscious and continuous ef-
fort to improve our education system because it molds the brainpower that will 
drive our knowledge-based economy forward. If we do not invest in it today, 
we will surely suffer tomorrow.
Our region is no different, and we would do well to reflect on my mother’s 
advice. We should be proud of our region’s natural beauty, its “good looks.” 
We should be proud of our professional and college sports teams, our “athletic 
ability.” 
But our future prosperity depends on fulfilling our duty to educate stu-
dents and prepare them for success—to teach them to love to learn. Making this 
investment requires commitment from every participant in our public educa-
tion system: from the various policymakers who manage it to the families and 
students who are served by it. 
As Richard Fry points out in this Southwest Economy’s “On the Record” 
interview, lagging Hispanic achievement in public schools represents a seri-
ous problem in both Texas and the nation (see page 8). If we do not address 
it, this issue will hinder not only the Hispanic worker but also our economy as 
a whole.
 
  Richard W. Fisher
  President and CEO
  Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

President's perspective

http://www.dallasfed.org/assets/documents/research/swe/2010/swe1001a.pdf

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