The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream, by Gary Shapiro

Observant readers of the Reading Glutton will note that the last book I reviewed talked about taking your faith back from the American Dream, where this book wants to restore it.  Other than the reference in the respective subtitles, these two books have little, if anything to do with one another.

Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, has held a front row seat to many innovations in late 20th century and early 21st century America.  The book is a wake-up call to us, as Americans, to reclaim our place as the world's leading innovators.  With policy proposals and a touch of inspiration, Shapiro hopes to reignite the innovative spirit.  Of course he emphasizes education, but I like his emphasis on immigration.  While some say immigrants take American jobs, he argues that immigrants in fact have created jobs and boosted American innovation, especially in his field of consumer technology.  He has a simple proposal for keeping promising foreigners here: if someone earns a PhD, put them on the fast track for citizenship.  Too many come to the U.S. to study, then, unable to gain permanent status, return to their home countries.  Some would return in any case, but why not try to get them to stay here?

Much of Shapiro's proposals are explicitly free-market, libertarian positions.  He does call for some level of government intervention in a few cases, but mostly to protect and encourage markets.  I think this statement sums up his position fairly well: "Government at its best will be neutral.  At its worst, it will get in the way and create barriers to innovation, investment, trade, and the creation of long-term jobs."  We need a neutral government, not what we've had lately, a government that rewards failure and tries to pick winners.  Your bank is failing?  I'm sorry, how about a few billion to tide you over?  Your product can find a market?  Oh, sorry, how about we heavily subsidize it, even though no one wants to buy it?

I've been listening to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged in the car for a few weeks (more on that later).  Shapiro's book reminds me of what Rand was talking about: when the innovators disappear from America, the country falls apart.  Hopefully we can recover innovation before things get as bad as that.  I don't think I have it in me to be an innovator, but The Comeback makes me want to be.