But we're doing something right. The U.S. economy has sustained the longest peace-time expansion without a recession in the nation's history. Our economy has been growing approximately 4 percent annually for more than three years. The stock market is booming. Unemployment is at an all-time low.
Inflation is under control.
The financial world has benefited from the advances in computers and communications. Today's global information infrastructure not only allows for better information but permits executives to react instantaneously to opportunities that emerge anywhere in the world. Trillions of dollars can be moved around the world in seconds to take advantage of the most promising opportunities. In my opinion, CIOs and IT have enabled the shift from hierarchical, bureaucratic organizations to networked organizations where information and decision making move horizontally within flat organizations. The IT infrastructure that you and your colleagues have created is responsible for the prosperity we are now enjoying.