In the past, innovation leading to bigger markets have allowed the Western societies to keep growing GDP and keep paying the debts at different levels, including individual, County, State and Federal. Unless there are dramatic and big innovations, creating more trade and commerce, it will be downhill from here, in my view. I got the insight watching the following video:
Zeeshan A Zakaria
I think patent trolls are also a big reason for lack of interest in innovation and the government doesn’t seem to do any reasonable effort to stop them.