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Editorial
True Fairness: Three Reports And What They Say All About Us Now

Three major reports came out this week that all Americans should know about. And no, they weren't Congressional rants about Benghazi or IRS attempts to unfairly question political non-for-profits about their claims for tax exemptions.

Two of the reports came out of the Harvard Business School and they had to do with economic truths that others have been going on about for years, but which the political classes have not yet tackled in any meaningful way. The third came from the New York Times and was a ranking of colleges and universities by how well they were diversifying their student bodies based on economic and other background elements. It backed up fears regarding the ways in which elitism works in our society, as well as ways in which such things can be reversed before they become catastrophic.

Left wing ideas from left wing bastions? We choose to think that science and research, analysis and study, are still apolitical ideas. And the phenomenon they point out in need of being heeded by those who we elect to help shape our world... our politicians.

The first report from the Harvard Business School, "An Economy Doing Half its Job", found that American companies — particularly big ones — were showing some signs of recovering their competitive edge on the world stage since the financial crisis of recent years, but that workers would likely keep struggling to demand better pay and benefits.

"We argue that such a divergence is unsustainable," noted the report, which was based on a survey of 1,947 of Harvard Business School alumni around the globe, and highlighted problems with our education system, transport infrastructure, and the effectiveness of the current political system. "Shortsighted executives may be satisfied with an American economy whose firms win in global markets without lifting U.S. living standards. But any leader with a long view understands that business has a profound stake in the prosperity of the average American... Thriving citizens become more productive employees, more willing consumers, and stronger supporters of pro-business policies. Struggling citizens are disgruntled at work, frugal at the cash register, and anti-business at the ballot box."

In the other Harvard Business School survey, in which business owners were asked about investments in workers versus machines, and their general hiring strategies these days, it turns out that a majority of the "job creators" so many of our politicians like to crow about are interested in almost every aspect of their businesses other than actual job creation.

It was found that 46 percent of business owners would rather spend money on technology than employ humans, compared with 26 percent who prefer people to robots, and another 29 percent who expressed confusion or indifference about the question. Forty-nine percent said they would rather outsource work than hire in the U.S., compared with 30 percent who'd rather hire locally.

"Firms invest most deeply in full-time employees, so preferences for automation, outsourcing, and part-time hires are likely to lead to less skills development," the study authors wrote, noting how the stock market and corporate profits are at all-time highs, while wages were flat and most still considered the economy in a recession.

Finally, as for that college report from the Times... it addressed all the talk about making college more affordable for all, the easier availability of Pell and other federal grants since the start of the Obama administration, and the actual numbers of scholarship students, or those with such grants, accepted by top universities. Most were downright pitiful although a few — including Harvard and, at the very top of the list of magnanimous colleges, Vassar — went beyond the pale.

The winning programs, the study showed, searched out students who were their families' first to go to college; they looked for kids whose parents weren't all doctors and lawyers. And all noted how their campuses benefited from the shared hard work such anti-elitist principals spurred on.

Talk about some real food for thought far beyond endless conspiracies about how bad everything is, and how useless those serving us are. The real culprits, it turns out, are deeper. They have to do with old concepts like greed and chummy behaviors.

But we're still Americans, and in the end we still believe that once known, we can yet face and overcome any challenge. Especially those of our own making.


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