"Right now policymakers are grappling with the implications of slow economic growth in the United States and the rest of the industrialized world. One response is austerity—cutting back on spending, accepting reduced living standards, and slowly digging out from the mess.

"A better option, though, is innovation, which accelerates growth, creates new jobs, and makes U.S. products and services more competitive world-wide. Innovation has the potential for raising incomes, an especially important task given that real median household incomes have fallen more than 10 percent since the beginning of the recession.

"While innovation can come from any industry, the technology sector is particularly important, as it has been the main source of growth and innovation in the economy for the past 35 years. "

Michael Mandel and Diana G Carew, Progressive Policy Institute Policy Brief, November 30, 2011