Why is the U.S. falling behind in technology?

Want something to feel depressed about? What about the recent column in InformationWeek from commentator Kevin Coleman? In it, Coleman writes that the United States is slowly falling from its perch as the globe’s technology leader. The United States is becoming a tech laggard, according to Coleman’s remarks.

The problem

Coleman comments that research-and-development, science and technology investments in the United States are not keeping pace with those by other nations. At the same time, the United States faces an ever-growing threat from smarter and more persistent cyber thieves. These two factors are chipping away at the United States’ long held dominance of the technology world.

A change

There was a time, not long ago, when all countries looked up to the United States when it came to technology and innovation, Coleman writes. And it’s still true that the United States spends more on technology and research-and-development than any other country. Even so the gap between the United States and its closest competitors is shrinking, Coleman writes.

A powerful China

As Coleman writes, the BBC has predicted that by the end of this year China will rank in front of the United States in terms of scientific output. China has recently passed Japan to rank second in the world in this category. Coleman’s column also points to a U.S. Intelligence Community report stating that the United States’ dominance in technology is slowly but steadily fading. What can the United States do to change this trend? As Coleman writes, investing more in high-tech education could help. Only by doing this, will the United States produce the next generation of great scientists and researchers.