Although it is done mostly off-line I have started an on-going conversation with Gil Schmidt. I’ve been meaning to join the on-line conversation he started. Today I had a telephone call with Kevin Faughnan, Director of the IBM Academic Initiative. Everything he had to say was exactly what Gil and I have been sharing. It flowed from him so smoothly that it angered me. I was angered by the complete failure of the government, industry, and academia to recognize what seems simple for the rest of the developed and emerging countries in the world to see.

So let me make this as clear as possible. Puerto Rico can not and will not be able to compete with China. Let’s face it, they have won. I challenge you to find a product that is not made in China. So we must STOP believing that Puerto Rico can manufacture anything cheaper, faster, or with higher quality than China. Puerto Rico may have been the first into the globalization breach, but our day has come and gone. Unfortunately, we did not use our competitive edge to prepare for the inevitable post-manufacturing Puerto Rico.

I propose a very simple plan. Reclaim your voice. We all must begin to inform our elected officials, our employers, our educators, our vendors, our neighbors, our children, our parents that while we enjoyed our economic glory years, the world moved on. It moved on, and we are WAY behind. Nothing but our complete acceptance of our fate and our complete commitment to put aside our differences will give us any hope.

In the coming days and weeks I will compile the contact information for as many leaders as I can. I will post this information here for our collective benefit. My hope is that we will then accept our civic duty to talk to each other. I hope that we will make our collective voice heard. For I fear that if we don’t Puerto Rico will plunge back into the poverty seen here in the early 1900’s. I’ve read and heard first hand accounts of what it was like. If you can’t recall the stories, I urge you to pay a visit to your parents and grandparents and ask what it was like. When you’ve heard the stories, I know you’ll be back. In the meantime, check out this story.