Will the world economic crisis lead to a world innovation crisis? Let's hope not. Innovation spurs economic growth, but, more important, it raises living standards by delivering improved health care and new ways of satisfying human needs and desires. During the current economic crisis, innovation is especially important. Indeed, innovators are probably the only people who stand between a world in prosperity and a world in depression.

This is a big claim, but I think it's justified. The flow of innovation almost surely guarantees that the United States, and the world, will suffer no economic catastrophe. For out of new technologies come productivity gains and the opportunity to provide new goods and services. Innovation, in short, is the true source of wealth.