The Wall St.Journal 24Feb2020

R2| Monday, February 24, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

other subjects. For instance, stu-

dents in biology classes can search

for patterns in genomes; in physics

they can simulate the motion of

planetary bodies; in math and sci-

ence they can study large data sets

or write programs to control robots

and drones.

Perhaps the most important rea-

son to integrate coding and computer

science into the K-12 curriculum is to

eliminate gender-based and economic

equality gaps. Coding needs to be a

standard component in public-school

curricula, not just an enrichment

program for the well-to-do.

The drive to democratize coding

literacy is led by concerned individu-

als who, instead of acting in their

own self-interest, understand that

coding is a critical skill for the 21st

century. It is not vocational training

any more than English is vocational

training for journalists or economics

is vocational training for business

executives. I have personally taught

thousands of teenagers coding and

computer science (and many more

online). Only a fraction of them work

in tech companies—the rest have

gone into a broad variety of careers,

feeling empowered to face techno-

logical challenges.

Coding literacy is not limited to

Silicon Valley companies and IT de-

partments. It is becoming a necessity

in such sectors as health care, social

assistance, business services, con-

struction, entertainment, politics

and manufacturing.

The basis for education in the last

millennium was reading, writing and

arithmetic. Now, it is reading writing

and computing.

the motivations of the manufactur-

ing industry a century ago. Then as

well as now, the rationale was that

such preparation would help mil-

lions of students enter all kinds of

occupations.

But that’s not really the case.

Let’s look at some data about the

job market. The U.S. Bureau of La-

bor Statistics estimates that com-

puter and information-technology

jobs will grow to roughly five mil-

lion in 2028, up from 4.5 million in

2018. Those future jobs will repre-
      sent only about 3% of the roughly
      171 million workers the U.S. econ-
      omy is expected to employ in 2028.
      Far larger growth, again according
      to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is
      expected in health care and social
      assistance. Employment in the sec-
      tor is expected to increase by
      nearly four million jobs to more
      than 23 million by 2026.
      There is an intimate connection
      between strong schools and a
      strong economy. But preparing
      youth for jobs is just one of the
      goals Americans want for their
      schools. The more important goals
      are to develop proud, literate, hu-
      mane citizens; reinforce commu-
      nity values; and to help students
      fulfill their individual potential.
      If the primary purpose of public
      education is seen as giving young
      people the knowledge and skills nec-
      essary to gain successful entry to
      the labor force in an information-
      driven economy, then say goodbye
      to public schools that cultivate civic
      and social responsibilities. Say hello
      to corporate and social elites who
      would reshape our schools in their
      own parochial interest.

JOURNAL REPORT |BIG ISSUES

and easy to send money to someone

across the world as it is to text

them photos today. And if this new

form of digital currency had an

open application programming in-

terface, or API, third-party develop-

ers could create new services that

use it, and financial services could

better interoperate.

The government could provide

such a payment protocol as a ser-

vice at cost, charging only what is

needed to operate and maintain the

system. A public payments option

would spur competition, as com-

mercial banks would have to work

harder to attract customers, per-

haps by offering higher interest

rates on deposits instead of charg-

ing predatory fees.

How a Fed-issued digital cur-

rency might work remains to be

seen. The Fed could provide ac-

counts directly to consumers and

businesses, in much the same way

it does with commercial banks to-

day. Or maybe the Fed would oper-

ate and control the payment infra-

structure, while private firms

provided the customer-facing ser-

vices. It also could coexist with

physical cash.

A Fed-issued digital currency

would need to be carefully designed,

Please turn to page R3

tional Automated Clearing House

Association.

A central bank retail-account sys-

tem cannot be costless if it hopes to

provide the level of customer ser-

vice that consumers expect. The Fed

deals only with commercial banks,

the U.S. Treasury and other central

banks, and knows only how to pro-

cess payments at the wholesale

level. To match the level of service

provided by commercial banks to-

day, the Fed would need to invest in

branch offices, ATMs, websites and

phone apps, and hire tellers and

service representatives to process

account applications, answer cus-

tomer questions and more.

Given the government’s poor re-

cord on efficiency, the likely out-

come would be a system that falls

short on customer service or loses

money at taxpayers’ expense—or

both.

Consumers also want a payment

system that continually improves

through innovation. Entrepreneurs

have launched successful digital

payment platforms like PayPal and

Venmo in the U.S., Alipay and

WeChat Pay in China, Paytm in In-

dia and M-Pesa in Kenya. Private

initiatives have introduced bitcoin

and other cryptocurrencies. Central-

Please turn to page R3

A Digital Dollar Would Make

Payments Faster and Easier

It Would Be Costly and Inefficient,

And Raise Privacy Issues

O

ne would be forgiven for

thinking we already have

a national digital cur-

rency: My salary is di-

rectly deposited into my

bank account, I use Venmo to split

dinner with friends, and I haven’t

touched paper money in weeks.

These “cashless” payment systems

may rely on digital interfaces and

software, but in reality they aren’t

much different from paper checks.

They rely on financial intermediaries,

which demand compensation for the

risks they take on by vouching for me

as the payer. And while it might seem

like these systems are free, merchants

charge higher prices to cover the fees

they incur from payment apps and

credit- and debit-card issuers. Fees

are even higher on cross-border

transactions, making micropayments

almost impossible, and some transac-

tions can take days to settle as money

moves across slow, outdated networks

of commercial and central banks

The U.S. could help pave the way

for faster, cheaper and more secure

payments by allowing consumers to

hold central-bank-issued digital cur-

rency outside of commercial banks.

Because everyone using this e-cash

would be connected to a single net-

work operated and maintained by the

Federal Reserve, it would be as fast

T

he U.S. government al-

ready issues paper

currency, so having it

issue a modern digital

currency might seem

like a no-brainer. But a closer look

suggests it won’t be a “win” for

the public.

What most proponents of cen-

tral bank digital currency envision

isn’t acurrencythat would circu-

late peer-to-peer as dollar bills or

bitcoins do without the banking

system’s knowledge. Rather, most

favor a model in which the Fed

would provide households and

nonbank businesses with transac-

tion accounts on its own books,

giving government the ability to

track all payments and eliminat-

ing the anonymity provided by

physical cash today.

Advocates say a national digital

currency would make retail pay-

ments almost instantaneous, cost-

less and secure, and safeguard the

Fed’s ability to conduct monetary

policy. These claims are dubious,

and there are easier ways to

speed up payments in the U.S. The

Fed could facilitate faster check

settlement by expanding the oper-

ating hours of the settlement ser-

vices it provides to commercial

banks, a move favored by the Na-

mers. Turning tax-supported

schools into job-training sites for

high-tech firms corrupts the very

purpose of public education.

Yet that is exactly what is hap-

pening here. This is not the first

time powerful commercial inter-

ests have sought to reshape public

education to suit their own ends.

In the early 20th century, pushed

by industrial groups, the federal

government helped states fund vo-

cational training to prepare high-

school students for manufacturing

work. Across the nation, school

districts added requirements in

high school for classes in industrial

and agricultural skills, and home

economics, and established sepa-

rate vocational schools. The impo-

sition of those requirements for

years served to undermine the

broader cultural goals of public

schools—such as social mobility,

individual development and civic

engagement.

The new push for required vo-

cational training comes from ad-

vocacy groups supported by the

deep pockets of wealthy donors

and technology companies. The

biggest advocates are high-tech

CEOs. Theirs is a vision of public

education in which coding and

computer science become as im-

portant as reading, writing and

arithmetic, starting in kindergar-

ten and continuing all the way

through college.

The stark self-interest mirrors

Continued from page R1

Schools Shouldn’t

Cater to CEOs

Some critics say there is no re-

search proving that learning to

code carries such benefits. But I’m

not aware of any research showing

that each and every thing taught in

math, science, English, history and

foreign language offers more bene-

fit than coding.

I would agree that one purpose of

public education should be to develop

proud, literate, humane citizens who

give back to their communities. But

can one claim to be proud of not un-

derstanding how one’s phone or the

internet works? Can one claim to be

literate without being able to under-

stand even the simplest piece of

code? Can one be humane and ignore

the role that technology can play in

addressing the problems of the devel-

oping world?

Today’s reality is that many com-

munity values and the development

of many aspects of one’s character

cannot be addressed without a basic

understanding of technology. Values

like security, privacy and honesty are

threatened precisely because most

citizens do not understand technol-

ogy sufficiently well to be able to

push back.

Our public-school curriculum, as

ever, needs to evolve to stay rele-

vant. Making room for coding and

computer science may not even re-

quire any reductions in teaching of

other subjects.

In fact, I believe the opposite is

true: Having coding-literate students

will enhance the teaching of many

Continued from page R1

Coding Fosters

Creative Thinking

A push to require students to learn coding has hit some resistance.

ROBERTO E. ROSALES/ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL/ZUMA WIRE

45%

The share of public high

schools nationwide that

teach computer science^19

The number of states that

require all high schools to

offer computer science^36

States where computer

science satisfies a core high-

school graduation requirement

Source: 2019 State of Computer Science Education

‘If the U.S.

doesn’t

embrace this

opportunity,

someone

else will.’

—Neha Narula

‘The best

way to

improve the

speed and

convenience

of dollar

payments is

through

competition.’

—Lawrence H. White

own digital money.

So far, few countries have implemented a digi-

tal currency, though China reportedly is close and

several countries have done or plan tests.. Con-

sidering the dollar’s key role in global markets,

should the U.S. commit to such a project?

Proponents say a digital dollar man-

aged on a single network would fa-

cilitate faster, cheaper payments

and protect the Fed’s ability to

conduct monetary policy in a

changing world. Opponents say

Fed-controlled digital currency

would be costlier and less effi-

cient than many expect, and it

would harm privacy by giving

government the ability to track

all dollar spending.

The nature of moneyis changing,

and central banks around the world are debat-

ing whether they need to change with it.

As electronic payments take off and private

cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin seek to gain

traction, governments are exploring whether

to issue digital versions of their national

currencies that could be used as a

universal form of payment in the

way physical cash is today. These

conversations gained urgency for

some last year when Facebook

Inc. announced plans to launch a

cryptocurrency called libra,

sparking concern that one of the

world’s most powerful technol-

ogy firms could become even

more powerful by operating its

DoestheU.S.

NeedaNational

Digital Currency?

BY NEHA NARULA

Yes

No

BY LAWRENCE H.WHITE