In this piece, Mssrs. Garfield and Young list three items they feel will help the US maintain its innovation advangate:
- Resolving the US debt crisis;
- Continued government support for basic research and development; and
- Modify the immigration rules to attract and retain foreign-born scientists and entrepreneurs.
I generally agree with the points made in this piece, but would add the following two items:
- Overhaul the patent system. Our patent system is in disarray, leading to significant litigation that is stifling innovation. This needs to be fixed.
- Streamline regulations for capital raising. Many regulations that impact capital raising, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, are well-intended regulations that have had a negative impact on the capital raising process, especially for smaller firms looking to access the public markets. These regulations must be streamlined to make the capital-raising process less cumbersome to companies.