Jump-Starting America Presentation at CFR

In the decades that followed World War II, the U.S. led the world in innovation, creating entirely new sectors such as jet aircraft, life-saving drugs and vaccines, microelectronics, satellites, and digital computers. Widespread innovation boosted productivity. Household income increased faster than ever before, while inequality declined. Since the 1970s, however, U.S. productivity growth has slowed. Total annual GDP growth has fallen substantially.

Moreover, the well-paying jobs that we do have in the U.S. are now concentrated disproportionately in a small number of superstar cities. People in the rest of the country increasingly – and correctly – feel that they are being left behind. Cities and states attempt to compensate by offering large tax breaks and other subsidies to big companies, but this just enriches corporations while starving local services. What can be done to reverse these trends and put the United States on an economically secure footing?