As I travel around the world, what I hear and see from business and government leaders, students and employees is very instructive. Other countries have focused on investing in innovation, creating national policies to build digital infrastructure, and have moved quickly to embrace sustainable energy. We are seeing this not just in India and China, but in Finland, Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, and many other places. All this activity on their part is making them far more potent competitors in the next phase of the global economy.

On all these issues there may be legitimate policy differences. But as a nation we must have a clear, enduring strategy to promote innovation, investment, and startup companies … a set of policies that let American business confidently invest in the future, raise capital, take risks, and feel assured that we are training the talent to lead the next generation of industries. That, after all, is what the rest of the world is doing.

This is an area the U.S. must succeed. Growth in math-intensive science and engineering jobs outpace overall job growth by three to one. Think about this: according to one source, America's GDP would grow by more than a third if U.S. students became globally competitive in math and science. Any real strategy for future competitiveness has to address this issue. President Obama has made this issue a top focus of his administration. We see it as the responsibility of not just government, but of every business that depends on highly skilled employees.