To accomplish this will require bipartisan agreements to control the rising costs of Medicare and Medicaid, she said. Even if the deficit is eliminated, she said, the United States and other developed nations will be challenged to maintain their standards of living in the face of an aging population. The solution, she said, is to grow faster. The challenge of an aging society is a question of how we grow faster, not just how we move claims around. Good, in turn, discussed ways and means for improving productivity.
New technology makes capital go further and increases productivity.
Several forces, however, threaten continued innovation in the United States, she said. Risks can be reduced through alliances of government, universities, and businesses, but she pressed the importance of federal support for research at levels that will maintain on top-flight scientific and technical teams, researcher facilities and university research programs. As if to reinforce Good's point, Hedfords noted that 60 percent of his company's net sales today come from products that did not exist three years ago. State policy can encourage the winners, Weld said in describing a transformation in the Massachusetts economy based on reducing taxes, cutting red tape, and building infrastructure. Our economy is no longer being carried by a few big giants.