Letter--High-tech businesses should contribute for STEM education
Wed, 04/24/2013
Most of our new college graduates have a hard time finding jobs, yet Boeing has to import young people to fill its positions that need math and science skills.
Well, of course--reducing taxes prevents schools from being adequately funded. If a student, in spite of that, finishes with a good background in technical subjects, he also finishes with a large debt.
He can't afford to pass on his knowledge by becoming a teacher; he needs the much larger pay he can get from a job in industry.
Science and math classes are left to be taught mostly by people whose primary interests and talents aren't in those subjects. Over the decades, fewer and fewer qualified people are available to even consider teaching them.
Should we keep on letting it get worse, or should we ask the investors in our high-tech businesses to pay a little income tax to finance a quality of education that will produce enough talented employees for both our schools and our industries?
Bruce Pringle
Normandy Park