How America can regain its competitive position in the World.

Book:

That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back

Michael Mandelbaum and Thomas Friedman detail reasons why America has lost its footing and seems destined to fall behind in the 21st century.

Four mistakes were key to America slippage, the authors contend:

1- Misreading the end of the Cold War which was not a military "victory" but the start of a very big challenge to U.S. hegemony. 

2- Taking a Bad Course After 9/11 by focusing on the losers of globalization vs. the winners. 

3- Underestimating the Impact of Technological Change which has made the world "hyper-connected." 

4- A Generational Shift from the "Greatest Generation" who believed in thrift and "sustainable values" to the Baby Boomers who use "situational values" and prefer to 'borrow and spend', instead of save.

The book offers some prescriptions for a revival:

"Five Pillars of Success" America used to become the world's greatest nation:

1. Education: From the cotton gin to the super conductor, America educated citizens up to the level of the most modern technology of the time, so they could exploit it. 

2. Have the world's best infrastructure. 

3. Immigration Policies that encourage the world's best and brightest to come to America...and stay here. 

4. The Right Mix of Regulation to encourage capital creation while also protecting society from predatory practices. 

5. Government-sponsored research and development, which helped spur huge advances in transportation, communications, technology and biotechnology.

America is "in a declining mode" in each of these areas which is why we're falling behind emerging nations not just on a relative basis but on an absolute basis. "China's not only rising but we're actually falling," he says.

Friedman recommends parents encourage their kids to

-"think like an immigrant" -- who know expect nothing will be given to them, and 

-"act like an artisan," meaning take tremendous pride in everything you do.

Source:

Tom Friedman’s Rx for America to Get Its Groove Back | Daily Ticker - Yahoo! Finance: 

by Aaron Task, host of The Daily Ticker.
Video interview available on the original document