Obama's plan key to economy's reversal

Certainly these statistics are dismal and worrying; however, I am confident that the U.S. will get back on track. How, you ask, are we going to do that? By winning the future. As President Barack Obama said in his 2011 State of the Union address, "We need to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world."

Innovation. America has always been the land of inventors; innovation is the American way. We always led the world in patent applications, until last year when China passed us. We always had the fastest Internet, until recently when South Korea passed us. We must regain that American ingenuity so the next breakthrough happens here. We must continue to support innovation so talented Rice graduates have the supports necessary to make ground-breaking discoveries. This innovation is central to our continued growth.

Education. American universities have always been among the best in the world. We have always produced amazing graduates with the skills to make meaningful contributions to our country. However, we are now faced with twin problems: ever-worsening quality of K-12 education and ever-rising costs of university education. U.S. K-12 education, as measured by standardized tests, has fallen dramatically compared with OECD countries. What's more, over the past 15 years, the cost of college tuition has exceeded the rate of inflation in that time period. While these problems are certainly complex and complicated, a portfolio approach featuring smaller class sizes, performance-pay for teachers, expanded Pell Grants and increasing the college tuition tax credit will help us out-educate the world and ensure we continue to have the smartest, most productive workforce on the planet.

Build. Put simply, our infrastructure is horrible. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, our infrastructure GPA is a "D" and we need to invest over $2 trillion in the next five years to improve our infrastructure. We must begin taking steps to fix this problem. For example, a massive public works program to fix our roads, bridges and airports would put thousands of Americans back to work. Moreover, this would help spark the economy as that money would be invested domestically. The U.S. also needs engineers to design more efficient energy systems, more functional airports, and more useful high-speed rail lines. As we strive to maintain our current standing in the world, we will need a renewed dedication to infrastructure development.

These three steps — out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building — are central to wining the future and restoring the American dream. But, these three steps are not enough; there is one more thing that is absolutely essential to us truly restoring the American dream: public service.

We need talented and motivated young people to serve their communities and country. Before you go to that prestigious law school, or hyper-competitive investment bank, or cutting-edge research university, give back to your country that has given you so much. Go become a teacher, go research at a government lab, go serve the government as a policy advisor, go volunteer in the military for a couple years. Sure, your salary may be lower, your hours may be longer, and your career may be a few years "behind" your peers, but you will have that special feeling that you helped someone. You will have made gentle the life of this world and bettered the lives of others. You will say proudly: "I served my country."

Let me reiterate; while our country is still feeling the effects of the Great Recession, unemployment is still too high and the American dream seems to be slipping, this is not the time to give up or given in. This country has always come together to address its greatest challenges, and this time will be no different. Winston Churchill once astutely remarked, "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all other possibilities." If we as a nation out-educate, out-innovate and out-build the world, and we as individuals dedicate a few years to public service, we will win the future. We will ensure American greatness. We will restore the American dream. That dream is why a man whose father is from Kenya, whose middle name is Hussein, and whose wife carries the blood of slaves and slaveowners, can be president of the greatest nation on earth.

Neeraj Salhotra is a Sid Richardson College sophomore.