
Can America Still Innovate? - mjfern
http://www.newsweek.com/id/222836
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mnemonicsloth
Obviously Newsweek can't.

They run this story twice per business cycle, and have been since the 1970s.

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timr
Given that most of the data they cite is from after 2000, I think it would
have been quite prescient of them to write the article in the 1970s.

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ojbyrne
They find new data. There's an industry that produces it, and it's quite
innovative in finding new sources.

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symesc
Yes.

But as a percentage of innovation worldwide, not as much as historically.

The US has done a great job of teaching other nations how to execute, which is
to say, how to set up an environment within which motivated people can be
rewarded for being successful.

Perhaps not ironically, some of those other countries have learned the
negative lessons within such a system (for example, a lack of financial
regulation and oversight), and have done more work to mitigate the negative
impact than the US has.

The key for the US will be to see if it too can learn from its own mistakes,
and from the success of others.

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jpcx01
Bit overstated, but he raises good points. I'd highly recommend Zakaria's
book, "The Post-American World". Really a great book.

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Shana
I would agree that the tax system needs an overhaul. Though a lot about these
GDP type measures are ridiculous- based on what??

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bshock
In the Corporate Patent State, innovation is illegal.

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jrockway
You should have said "copyright state". Remember, writing a computer program
that allows someone to copy their legally-purchased DVD to their legally-
purchased portable video player is a crime in the US. Needless to say, the
only innovation in that sector comes from entities outside the US.

