Weakness

Everyone agrees the economy can only be improved by developing a highly educated, highly skilled work force.  The days of an economy built on common labor and other unskilled jobs is over.  In spite of a universal agreement on the importance of education, no one wants to pay for it.  No one wants to invest now to ensure a prosperous future.

I’ve said for years Americans only have three ambitions:  1.  Where are we going to eat dinner tonight?  2.  How will I get the money to make the 60 payments on the Buick?  And 3.  Can I afford to rent an apartment?

Using only a factor of 1.1 to fund all research in this state is not in line with the Brookings Institute Report released by Sandoval early this year.  Nevada will not be able to deliver graduates to fill the critical economic development areas. Not having a top tier Carnegie-ranked university is a weakness that goes right to the core of Nevada’s higher education system and prevents it from producing world-class graduates.  There is nothing new in what every analysis has told us about the weaknesses of Nevada’s education system—they are what they have always been.  After 50 years of analysis and discussion about the inadequacies of the system, nothing has been done.