U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez speaks at USC
By John Temple Ligon Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Photo by Jim Covington USC Vice President Harris Pastides and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham (R- S.C.) spoke to students and the media at USC's Moore School of Business Monday, October 1, in Lumpkin Auditorium.

Dr. Hildy Teegan, dean at the Moore School, welcomed the audience, as did Dr. Harris Pastides, USC's vice president for research and health science.

Senator Graham introduced Secretary Gutierrez as his co- author for comprehensive immigration reform.

Gutierrez was born in Cuba in 1953 and came to the U.S. with his family in 1960.

In 1999, he was the Kellogg Company's youngest CEO in its nearly 100- year history. In the spring of 2000, he was named the company's chairman of the board.

In nominating Gutierrez, President Bush said, "He understands the world of business from the first rung on the ladder to the very top. He knows exactly what it takes to help American businesses grow and to create jobs."

Photo by John Temple Ligon Elizabeth Shirk, IMBA/JD Class of 2009

Gutierrez was happy to report to the students the country's real gross domestic product in this year's second quarter moved ahead at a growth rate of 3.8 percent. Since August 2003, the U.S. economy grew 8.2 million nonfarm jobs, and 1.6 million in the last 12 months.

Of all the new jobs, half were created by companies less than five years old.

Growth is a worthy, noble goal, said Gutierrez. If there is no growth, everything becomes a problem. There is no substitute for growth, he declared.

Worldwide growth is impressive. Exports across the globe are up by 12 percent in the past year. World trade is 29 percent of the world's economy.

What's not growing so impressively is the work force. In the U.S., the annual growth rate of only 0.3 percent is expected over the next seven years among the working, ages 18- 54. Elsewhere, the growth statistics among the work force are even more grim, especially in Western Europe and Japan.

Japan's attitudes toward immigration need gross adjustment before a successful immigration policy can play out.

Photo by Jim Covington Sec. Gutierrez and the Moore School's Jacqueline S. Hunt.

Europe is having horrendous problems with its immigration. Only the U.S. appears to succeed with its 230 years or so of welcoming and assimilating immigrants, but even the U.S. needs comprehensive immigration reform to get the debate right and advance through the century.

The big question for the century, as Gutierrez put it, is what is the immigration policy?

Shifting his attention to seasoned advice for the students, Gutierrez identified four desirable traits among leaders. (1) There must be a will to lead. (2) A leader looks forward to confronting big decisions, handling the big issues. (3) Leaders know what they do well and what they can't do well, and surround themselves with people who are proven performers in areas they are not. (4) A leader stays humble. Gutierrez quoted his grandmother: "Tell me what you brag about, and I'll tell you what you lack."

In the back of Lumpkin Auditorium, Elizabeth Shirk raised her hand. An IMBA/JD in the Class of 2009, Shirk asked her country's secretary of commerce about when Cuba should finally become a nation free from dictatorship. "What role do you believe the U.S. should play in the transition?" she asked.

Gutierrez suggested all the problems are with Cuba, not the U.S. The best transition assistance could come in the form of training how to develop, accept, and work with the new freedoms in Cuba.

The Cuban people are not allowed access to the Internet, for example. Starting a business there now could be a jailable offense. The Cubans are denied free travel even inside their own country.