We Need More Engineers in Congress

Something concerns me. It has always seemed that Congress is comprised of lawyers from Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and other universities. Does it bother you that our laws and futures are being molded, in part, by attorneys? Is this even true? Let's let the data do the talking.

I went to the website for the US Senate and looked up the education/career backgrounds of each member. I was able to find details for 99 of the 100 senators. This is what I learned:
Lawyers: 57 members
Business people: 11
Education: 6
Medicine: 5
Government: 4
Media: 3
Corporate: 3
Real estate: 3
Military: 2
Engineering: 1

Engineering is last. Last! Based on my research, the sole engineer in the US Senate is John Sununu of New Hampshire. God Bless him.

This is a tremendous opportunity for improvement. Make a list of the best problem solvers in the world and engineers must be in the top five. Arguably, they are at the top of the list. Our thought process is what sets us apart. It is what we "bring to the table". This process which is so diligently used to solve complex manufacturing problems can certainly be used to find root causes of societal problems. Years ago I mailed a "how to" article to Newt Gingrich explaining how the pareto principle could be used to set the agenda of the Congress. Imagine that. Using data, the focus of our elected officials would grow from a scientific process. (I never heard from him).

I believe we need more engineers in government. What am I going to do about it? I don't know (yet) but I would love to talk about it with you.