Innovation Isn’t Dead — It Isn’t Even Sleeping

Investors Business Daily ^ | 4/29/2016 | Editorial

[expat_panama]

Innovation: We often hear that America’s best days are behind it, that the innovation that has bolstered our standard of living has come to an end. But — take a deep breath — it doesn’t have to be so.

This idea has a long lineage. “Everything useful that can be invented already has been invented,” the U.S. Patent Commissioner, Charles Duell, is reported to have said... ...1899...

...news and commentary today are filled with the notion that the past 10 years have been some of the worst in history...

...the past 10 years have in fact been a time of extraordinary innovation in America... ...“gales of creative destruction” that sweep across the economy periodically, destroying some old industries, businesses and products, while making room for new ones.

Think the past decade has been one of stagnation? Here’s a quick list of things, courtesy of Colas, that have appeared in just that period:

iPhone... ...June 2007. Facebook... ...September 2006. Twitter... ...July 2006. Instagram... ...2010. Uber... ...2009. iPad... ...January 2010.

...the social media revolution, which fueled these new ubiquitous produce, represents one of the greatest shifts in human behavior in history — all mostly within the space of just 10 years...

...new goods, services and medicines are being created from technologies that are little understood by the public. Nanotechnology, robotics, genetic manipulation, 3D printing all are still in their infancy. They await only the opportunity to grow. The next 10 years could mark even greater change.

Unfortunately, when it comes to innovation, not all policies are created equal. Lower, flatter taxes, especially on investments and corporations. Fewer regulations. Better education and training. Smaller, more fiscally responsible government. A greater appreciation for entrepreneurs and what they do. These are the real engines of our future prosperity — not the current pervasive gloom.

[expat_panama]

Doom'n'gloomers get a lot of milage screaming WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!   OK, well I know it's true (and the U.S. will end, humanity will be extinct, the sun will explode, and the universe will collapse) but that's not important.  What matters is we're alive now and if things change it's because our Creator doesn't.

Even IBD is no longer a daily newspaper.  The print version is IBD Weekly and I'm hoping to be kept up to date w/ content online. 

[BlackAdderess]

Well maybe reversing policies on the “Open Office” which seems to be an irrational fad among MBAs would do a lot to encourage innovation. You aren’t going to really innovate if you are spending 80% of your time answering 101 level questions via email and phones and attending meetings.

[BlackAdderess]

Making life easier for startups too would be an excellent idea. Even the Economist is calling foul on the destruction of competition in the United States.

[expat_panama]

Good Morning and OUCH!  Both the NASDAQ and the S&P add on another distribution day piling more pressure on our "market under pressure"  --current tally is now now @ NASDAQ 7 and S&P 6.

Meanwhile gold and silver punch up to new highs, they're now trading at $1,299.43 and $17.92; these are highs not seen since 2014! 

Futures traders are solid with metals today: +1.76% but while this site sees stock indexes -0.65% this other one has 'em "mixed/up".

For those that liked last weeks GDP, this week brings headline unemployment [snort] and this morning is the ISM Index and Construction Spending.

Elsewhere:

Women Make Better Investors than Men Do - Holly McKay,Daily Telegraph
Stock Pickers Beware Unwelcome Pattern - Ellie Ismailidou, MarketWatch
Sell Out of the Stock Market In May? Not So Fast - Adam Shell, USA Today
How Does Obama Economy Stack Up? - Kevin Williamson, National Review
As GDP Flatlines, Obama Brags About His Record - Editorial, Investor's
Helicopter Money Would Logically Miss Its Targets - John Tamny, Forbes
Was the Fannie/Freddie 'Death Spiral' All a Mirage? - Tara Helfman, RCM
The Income Experiment That Could Solve Poverty - Annie Lowrey, NYM

[ealgeone]

.June 2007. Facebook... ...September 2006. Twitter... ...July 2006. Instagram... ...2010. Uber... ...2009. iPad... ...January 2010

Outside of the ipad not sure the others are huge leaps in innovation.

[expat_panama]

...not sure the others are huge leaps in innovation.

A hundred years ago many Americans (mostly old ones) said the same thing about America's soaring manufacturing sector.  They'd say that factory output's not important because we don't need it.  Only thing we really need is to eat and that's what farm output's for.

Reality is that a hundred years of U.S. manufacturing changed to the world, and now we're seeing just ten years of U.S. innovation changing it even more.  My personal guess is that those that don't see it are those that really don't want to see it.

[expat_panama]

the Economist is calling foul

Neat!  Tx fer the headsup; you must mean this one:

The problem with profits

Big firms in the United States have never had it so good. Time for more competition

FR thread: Business in America: The problem with profits (lack of competition)

[palmer]

No doubt we have one of the more innovative economies but it won't take long for others to catch up. We will need more financial innovation particularly to broaden the markets beyond Wall St. Kickstarter and start engine are a good start but need to have better regulation and transparency. The old regulatory structure is to create 100 page disclosures that nobody can read. We need a new way.

We are behind in cryptocurrency. I am biased towards it myself, but it is obvious that Europeans and others have recognized the future of money while we are mainly trying to regulate it out of existence. I think we are falling behind in software in many areas, I see a lot of foreign apps, foreign open source, etc

We are on the cusp of a new manufacturing and distribution revolution but still have the old retail model in place. Our biggest problem there is we have too much time and money to waste, the result is Apple stores and strip malls full of cheap crap. We should boycott Target but should never have gone there in the first place.

[AustinBill]

Social media has had a huge impact on everyday life. Although much of it is frivolous, and is just building on technologies that have been around in various forms for a long time, what's different is that these communication technologies are now being made accessible to the non-technical general population on a massive scale. That is having enormous economic, social, and now political impact around the world.

Social media has ended the long reign of the information gatekeepers. That's its biggest impact. It is a watershed moment in humanity's political history.

[bert]

I have read Forbes pretty much from cover to cover for 35 years. In the recent past, there was an editorial change to the web and to what is new. Entrepreneurs are the focus. Creating that which is new is the focus. Young people, those under thirty are the focus.

Forbes has maintained some of it’s old core for fossils like me but to continue to live and grow, has sought a new readership that is on line. Forbes has in fact grown.

The main theme of Forbes is now American innovation. The stories of innovators both old and especially those that are young, some very young, belie the mutterings of industrial death and destruction.

[Salvey]

new goods, services and medicines are being created from technologies that are little understood by the public.

I have difficulty envisioning these innovations originating from any of the groups of new Americans which obama and his ilk are importing to help "fundamentally transform" America.

[expat_panama]

"fundamentally transform"

That's just it, America is transformation and anything the hired help in DC tries to do in that regard is hopelessly outdated long before it's even drafted.  By the time it's get's put into law it's an archaic drag.

[expat_panama]

interesting, tx!

[ealgeone]

Reality is that a hundred years of U.S. manufacturing changed to the world, and now we're seeing just ten years of U.S. innovation changing it even more. My personal guess is that those that don't see it are those that really don't want to see it.

I hope you're not planning a visit to Vegas any time in the future.

[ealgeone]

Social media has had a huge impact on everyday life. Although much of it is frivolous, and is just building on technologies that have been around in various forms for a long time, what's different is that these communication technologies are now being made accessible to the non-technical general population on a massive scale. That is having enormous economic, social, and now political impact around the world.

Yes it is having an impact on everyday life...social media is making us less connected. We send an email or like something on facebook and we think we're communicating. We post a few comments on FR and we think we're interacting.

We're not physically interacting any longer as we did when I was a kid.

Social media has ended the long reign of the information gatekeepers. That's its biggest impact. It is a watershed moment in humanity's political history.

To some degree but that was happening already with the advent of the internet and talk radio.

Unfortunately social media is being consumed by those who don't care about important information. They care more about what the Kardashian's are doing or some other nonsence such as that.

[AustinBill]

I’ve observed for many years that the Internet reflects us as we really are, not as we (or others) imagine we ought to be. The measure of our maturity both as individuals and as a species is how narrow or wide that gap is.

[expat_panama]

...it won't take long for others to catch up...

--and that's great because we want them to get to where we are now.  Let's keep in mind the fact that America's great not because it's where it is, but because it's rapidly moving forward thru "here" and hopefully the rest of the world will continue to follow our leadership.

financial innovation particularly to broaden the markets beyond Wall St.

Sounds like you didn't get the memo.  America's financial industry hasn't been on Wall St. for years (decades?).  Everything's online and very fast moving; the few old-timers up to speed on this are folks being dragged screaming and kicking about how much they hate programmed trades and high-frequency exchanges.  Not a problem, we're too busy creating wealth to bother listening to 'em.

distribution revolution but still have the old retail model

What, you want the village market bazaar?  Camel caravans?   They actually do still exist in very remote places but my buying/selling's mostly (again) on line.  Hey guy, if you're not happy about the way things are just wait a moment and we'll see the on-line component referred to as 'the old model' and moron protectionists will demand tax-hikes to protect it.