During last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama (predictably) spent a great deal of time outlining a strategy for modernizing the U.S. economy and enhancing American competitiveness in an increasingly global market. In his speech, the President repeatedly emphasized the importance of technological innovation as a tool for lifting the country out of the recession and building a foundation for continued economic growth. Here are a few of the highlights:
The President began by highlighting some of the triumphs of technology, saying, “[w]e are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook,” adding that “innovation doesn’t just change our lives…[i]t is how we make our living.”
At the same time, however, the President acknowledged that technology also plays a disruptive, even destructive role in the global market: “In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an Internet connection.”
His solution? A substantial investment in technology infrastructure in order to lay a foundation for the economy of the future. The President reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring high-speed internet access throughout the country, stating his intention to provide broadband access to 98 percent of Americans over the next decade. In 2010, the Commerce Department reported that 40 percent of Americans lacked high-speed access in their homes.
The President explained: “This isn’t about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.”
Hooray! Iphone 4s for all!
“We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world,” he said. “The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.”
“We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.”
I’ll reserve the comments section for debate on whether the President would have changed that last line to “winner of the World Series” if next weekend’s Super Bowl had included his hometown Bears.