How the Heck is Manufacturing Going to Survive with these Statistics?

I'm in shock as I'm about to spell out statistics that do not bode well for the future of manufacturing.

Here is where the U.S. rates in comparison to the rest of the world.

#6 in Global Innovation-Based Competitiveness

#40 in the Rate of change over the Last Decade

#11 in High School Graduation Rate of 25-34-year-olds (compared to industrialized countries)

#16 in College Graduation Rate

#22 in Access to Broad-Band Internet Access

#27 in in Proportion of College Students Receiving Degrees in Science or Engineering (compared to developed nations)

#48 in Quality of K-12 Math & Science Education

This is from a report issued in Sept called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm Revisited: Rapidly Rising Approaching Category 5" which is authored by the National Academies.

This deeply disturbing fact came to my attention via an article by Thomas Friedman in Oct. 27th New York Times entitled "Can't Keep a Bad Idea Down".

He pointed out the press hasn't given proper coverage to the report. He's right and I couldn't sleep last night thinking that I was part of the problem. While I hope to sleep better tonight, having posted this entry, I'm guessing all of those working towards a stronger manufacturing sector in the U.S. won't be getting much sleep.