Everyone is tossing it around.
Politicians pay homage to it.
Business leaders and educators bemoan the loss of it. And, generally, everyone agrees that we need more of it. But despite all this talk,there is surprisingly little true understanding of why the U.S. is falling behind in so many areas. Uncompetitive industries and inferior educational institutions those areas of American life most often cited for failing to match the standards of other nations are victims of more than just inefficient management and poorly trained and underpaid teachers. Such problems would be relatively easy to resolve.