Apr
21
Technology and Entrepreneurship-Class #22-Gerald Lizzo
April 21, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Recent trends in the entrepreneurship field are discussed within the Center for an Urban Culture article. The article mentions how New York City is currently in the middle of a “golden age” of entrepreneurship. Many individuals are deciding to open new businesses and employ themselves despite the incredible hardship one must endure in order to become successful. The prevailing state of the economy is in large part to blame as individuals face high unemployment rates and low wage jobs that may not be able to satisfy needs if one is found. However, it is who is actually starting these new businesses that seems to be most noteworthy.
Perhaps it is exactly because of these poor economic conditions that some individuals choose not to risk everything to become self-employed, but the foreign-born individuals are not making that decision. Approximately 49% of the city’s self-employed are foreign born according to the article. Native born individuals are simply not as willing to start their own business. Furthermore, the article discusses primarily low-income individuals who are undertaking these risks. For me, this shows something that is extremely important to America. After all of these years and all that has gone on, many still truly do believe in the American Dream. This is extremely refreshing to hear, to know that the American spirit, the heart of our country’s identity still remains, albeit a lot less evident than in the past, and is still being pursued today.
Now, while I admire the courageous efforts of these new businesses, the fact that native-born Americans are not as willing to open businesses does worry somewhat.
It could signal the slowly dying spirit of the American Dream, the loss of something so very close to the center of the foundation of this country. And, while these numbers do not necessarily allow me conclude this, I think this is an issue. Not only do start-ups play major role in building an economy, but they also help bring an identity to America. The American spirit is a very strong and powerful force that has helped to build one of the world’s greatest countries and I think it is extremely important that we do not lose that. Everyone deserves that equal opportunity to become all that he or she can be.
The New York Times article helps to shed the light on how this is not always the case. The article gives a now familiar historical perspective of the issue of income inequality in America. As such, unfortunately, in reality the idea of equal opportunity for Americans is not an actual piece of reality. The issue has been on going and has only gotten worse as time has gone on. We have discussed this in great detail during our class discussion throughout the semester.
But one thing the article does go on to do is to try and establish a solution to the problem. The article points to technology, the advancement of which has in part caused the vast amount of income inequality in this country, as a potential solution to he issue at large. Essentially, the argument appears to be as time goes on and technology becomes increasingly capable of many extraordinary things, the innovation will lead to more job opportunities. The idea is new technology will actually be able to cut costs and the playing field will be leveled via cheaper services and not by wage gains, like artificial intelligence being used to diagnose a medical issue. However, for me, this is thinking way too far ahead into the future after a lot of money has been invested into technological advancements. That means, the issue of technology causing job losses is very real and the article itself acknowledges it. It states how a more universal expertise in information technology can help to reverse the trend of income inequality. That, I think, is the key. We have also discussed this before but education is the route for leveling the playing field. By educating Americans, they can learn to find their place within the new society and continue to further advance the technological progress, not simply be stuck with a set of outdated skills that are becoming less and less desirable in today’s job market. So, yes, I do agree technology can help, but before that, we need education.
