“The United States of America—for generations known around the world as the land of opportunity and innovation—is on the verge of losing its competitive edge. It is facing perhaps its greatest economic challenge since the dawn of the industrial revolution. This challenge has little to do with business costs and even less with manufacturing prowess. And, no, the main competitive threats are not from China or India.

Even though the United States led the world into the era of high-tech industry and constant innovation, it is by no means the nation’s manifest destiny to stay on top. In fact, the great majority of U.S. business and political leaders, academics, and economic analysts fail to grasp the true reason behind American success in innovation, economic growth, and prosperity. It is not the country’s generous endowment of natural resources, the size of its market, or some indigenous Yankee ingenuity that has powered its global competitiveness for more than a century. America’s growth miracle turns on one key factor: its openness to new ideas, which has allowed it to mobilize and harness the creative energies of its people.” Richard Florida

Read more from Richard Florida’s original post on the Harvard Business Review, ‘America’s Looming Creativity Crisis‘.

Best quote: “Ideas come from people.”