Former National Security Advisor and U.S. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster addressed Arizona State University students on October 7 as part of the put on by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL). 

McMaster, who served in uniform for more than three decades and in public service longer yet, commanded the attention of students, faculty, community leaders, ROTC cadets, and military officers.

McMaster a wide array of topics and issues over the course of the evening, but stressed the need to demand competence from the political class while also guarding against hubris. 

“We can tell our leaders to stop pretending, and demand competence,” McMaster said. “We need not wait for the political class to restore our confidence in our common identity as Americans.”

Charting a course for the future, McMaster encouraged the audience to “resolve to live well, cherish the freedoms so many fought to preserve, and to realize the motto that appears on the seal of the Republic: E Pluribus Unum.”

McMaster thanked SCETL for its dedication to civil discourse and the promotion of a classical education, and ASU more broadly for its commitment to entrepreneurship and accessibility. He said that civic education is a precondition for good citizenship.

American withdrawal from Afghanistan and competition with China

“Strategic narcissism led to self-delusion” in Afghanistan, McMaster said, a critic of the United States’ withdrawal from the nation. “And self delusion provided a rationale for self defeat. The catastrophe we are seeing in Afghanistan is the result of…incompetence.”

As National Security Advisor, McMaster repeatedly persuaded then-President Trump against withdrawal from Afghanistan.

McMaster sees American withdrawal, which he characterizes as defeat, as a concession in the larger confrontation with China, rather than an opportunity to recalibrate American strategy. 

As NSA, he co-wrote a memo titled “Strategic Framework For The Indo-Pacific,” which is credited with shifting American strategy more fully towards the Indo-Pacific region. Notably, it foresaw the increasing importance of “The Quad,” an alliance between the U.S., Australia, Japan, and India.

Education as a path to opportunity

During McMaster’s address and the discussion he had afterwards with the director of SCETL, Dr. Paul Carrese, he championed education as a means to achieving the American Dream.

McMaster said that the zipcode of one’s birth should not determine their destiny, and that school choice should be prioritized by politicians seeking equal opportunity. 

He criticized those who ascribe to the “New Left” narrative of history, where America is typically portrayed as a malevolent force, as having too low an opinion of the American founding and the nation’s revolutionary vision.

“What is great about our country is that we do have an opportunity to build a better future for generations to come.”

SCETL on October 28 will Brookings Institution fellow and Atlantic contributor Jonathan Rauch for a speech entitled, “Rescuing Reality: Can Americans Have Shared Facts Again?”

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Employers across Arizona and the U.S. are facing worker shortages at record levels and business leaders and chambers of commerce are urging state and national lawmakers to invest in new workforce initiatives to help fill millions of job openings.

In April, employers reported a record-high 9.3 million open jobs, said Neil Bradley, Chief Policy Officer for the U.S. ˿����Ƶ of Commerce, who spoke at the organization’s recent summit, . In Arizona, 160,000 to 180,000 jobs were unfilled in March, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.

“The problem is hurting retailers on Main Street and the nation’s largest employers in our biggest cities,” Bradley said. “When businesses do not have enough employees, they’re forced to turn down jobs and reduce the number of hours that they’re open.”

Almost 5,400 business leaders representing every state tuned in to the summit this month to discuss workforce challenges, share solutions and rally support for the ˿����Ƶ’s new America Works Agenda initiative to address the “talent crisis.” 

The initiative recommends federal and state policy changes in three areas to expand employee pools: train more Americans for in-demand jobs, remove barriers to work, and double the number of visas available for legal immigrants.  

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo was a keynote speaker who talked about the administration’s , which calls for funding 1 million apprenticeships in building trades, as well as digital apprenticeships in cybersecurity, software engineering, accounting, and quality assurance. 

America experiencing a “talent crisis”    

America is facing a double-dose of workforce challenges, Bradley said. There are too many people without jobs. And there are too many jobs without skilled people to fill them.

A recent national survey of local chambers of commerce, 90 percent reported that it is “difficult” for businesses in their area to hire workers, with two-thirds reporting it was “very difficult,” Bradley said. Less than 1 percent said it was easy to fill jobs.

Many industries are being affected including agriculture, education, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, computer software, and construction. A recent survey of the commercial construction industry shows that 85 percent of contractors are having difficulty finding workers, he said. Of those, 34 percent have had to turn down work. 

“All this slows down the economy. Indeed, local chambers of commerce are twice as likely to say that a lack of workers is holding back the economy as they are to say that Covid is holding it back,” Bradley said. 

Call to businesses, stakeholders to rally for initiative   

The summit is part of a new initiative by the U.S. ˿����Ƶ Foundation, called , to mobilize industry and government to act quickly to address America’s “deepening worker shortage crisis.” 

CEOs, trade associations and chambers of commerce are encouraging their employees and members to call on state and federal lawmakers to adopt recommendations in the initiative. Here’s a sampling of recommendations in four key areas:

Upskill American workers

• Fund and support employer collaboratives and sector partnerships at the state and local levels tasked with building talent pipelines based on in-demand jobs and skills using their preferred training partners

Immigration reform 

• Double the cap on employment-based immigrant visas from 140,000 per year to 280,000, including seasonal agricultural workers and high-tech professionals
• Provide international students who graduate from U.S. universities with more opportunities to obtain employment-based green cards upon graduation
• Enhance and expand the opportunities for entrepreneurs to obtain permanent residency so they can build their businesses here in the United States
• Create a new, geographically targeted visa program, along the lines of the Heartland Visa proposal, that will drive economic and population growth into American communities struggling with the serious economic and social problems caused by significant population loss

Education and training 

• Grow federal investments in employer-led job education and training programs
• Expand Pell grants for non-credit workforce training 
• Create “skills saving accounts” to help employees and employers manage continuing education costs and avoid new student debt 

Remove barriers to work 

• Expand access to affordable, quality childcare for working parents
• Improve “second chance” hiring through public-private agreements to support employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals 
• Remove occupational licensing restrictions that make entering a new field time-intensive, cost-prohibitive, and restricts opportunities for mobility.

“We must arm workers with the skills they need, we must remove barriers that are keeping too many Americans on the sidelines, and we must recruit the very best from around the world to help fill high-demand jobs,” said Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. ˿����Ƶ, one of the keynote speakers at the summit. 

To view an analysis of the numbers behind the workforce crisis, visit: To view the U.S. ˿����Ƶ’s America Works Agenda, a suite of legislative and regulatory solutions at the federal and state level to help address the crisis, go to:

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As students return to the classroom, bridging the digital divide is on everyone’s mind. Those suffering the deepest losses in learning are students who had little or no access to fast, reliable internet during Covid-19.

Schools, non-profits, businesses and government agencies in Arizona all rushed in to connect as many students as possible but the pandemic highlighted how critical technology is to the nation’s learners. State and federal officials have been working to improve access for underserved students and communities, including two programs announced this week.  

In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill Tuesday to pave the way to push more broadband into underserved rural areas and tribal lands. The bill, , allows private broadband providers to install, operate and maintain telecommunications equipment within the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) rights-of-way.

HB 2596 also allows ADOT to grant access to its own broadband conduit to private telecommunications companies in a “non-exclusive and non-discriminatory manner” to reduce the cost of installing broadband infrastructure in rural areas and tribal areas, the Governor’s Office said.  

“Arizona is growing and people are moving here at a record pace — and we need to ensure all parts of our booming state are connected,” Gov. Ducey said, echoing the commitment he made during his State-of-the-State address in January. “House Bill 2596 does that, and it will help Arizonans living in rural and tribal areas gain access to fast, affordable and reliable internet.”

Financial incentives for telecommunications companies  

In January, Ducey released a broadband proposal that calls for investing $33.1 million to deploy approximately 195 miles of broadband conduit along I-40 to the California border and to accelerate broadband expansion. 

To generate revenue for projects, HB 2596 creates the “Smart Highway Trust Fund.” The fund will collect leasing revenues generated from the use of ADOT rights-of-way to be used for operation and maintenance of telecommunications facilities within those rights-of-way. 

The hope is to encourage companies to invest in the infrastructure required to wire remote areas like the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona, where poles and lines can stretch for hundreds of miles. 

State Rep. Regina Cobb (R-Kingman), who sponsored the bill, said Covid-19 created even more urgency to get Arizona fully connected. 

“Connectivity is key, especially as more people work from home and rely on quality broadband,” Cobb said. “Arizonans in all areas, including rural areas, depend on high-speed internet for education, work, medical needs, transportation, public safety and so much more.”

FCC program open today with discounts for internet bill, tech purchases  

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also announced a new program that opens today to help low-income households get reliable high-speed internet. Called the it offers temporary discounts on broadband service and technology purchases to eligible families and students.  

Who Is eligible for the discounts?

A household is eligible if a member of the household meets one of the criteria below:

• Has an income that is at or below 135 percent of the or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or
• Approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year
• Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020 and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program

Enrollment starts today 

As of today, May 12, eligible households may enroll in the program to receive a monthly discount off the cost of broadband service from an approved provider. 

Eligible households can enroll through an approved provider or by visiting: .

To read more about broadband programs, grants and other resources available in Arizona, visit: .

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