How to Combat China's Rise in Tech: Federal Spending, Not Tariffs

Not long ago, when Americans faced the possibility of being left behind by other countries' advancing tech, the federal government stepped in with nearly endless resources to stimulate the creation of vast new industries. Thanks to government funding, we got the nuclear industry, the space program, the aviation industry and the internet, which was initially sponsored by the Defense Department. Just about every key component in a smartphone, from the battery to GPS, is based on research first done for the American government. It's not an understatement to say that, for better or worse, the American government invented the modern world. But today in the United States, venture capitalists and multinational corporations lead the development of -- and will own -- tomorrow's technologies.