The big problem with these sorts of blanket statements is that there's no way to measure innovation. Patents and copyrights are laughable as proxies, since many

The big problem with these sorts of blanket statements is that there's no way to measure innovation. Patents and copyrights are laughable as proxies, since many obvious things get patented, while many innovations are either treated as trade secrets or released into the public domain. I'll be ready to hear arguments talking about India and China out innovating the US after someone comes up with a credible metric for measuring innovation. Until then, all these discussions will go in circles as no one can clearly articulate what exactly constitutes an innovation.