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[Change can come, but it requires]
[It requires a clear and determined plan of action.]
[It requires a stiff dose of candor about the troubles we face, ]
[many of which we brought on ourselves. ]
[It requires leaders throughout the economy to take command of events. ]
[and now we need an aggressive American renewal]
[Many bought into the idea that America could go from a technology-based,]
[to a services-led, consumption-based economy ]
[and still expect to prosper. ]
[That idea is just flat wrong. ]
[Recently, my colleague Peter Loscher, the CEO of Siemens,]
[extolled the importance of Germany as an exporting country. ]
[In my career I've never heard an American CEO]
[say that the United States should be leading in exports. ]
[Well, I'm saying that today. This country ought to be, ]
[and we can be, not just the ]
[world's leading market, but a leader in exports, as well. ]
[Last year, GE's exports from the U.S. were 19 billion dollars. ]
[We want to lead this effort. ]
[We've restructured during the downturn, adjusting the market realities.]
[And at the same time we're increasing our investments. ]
[We plan to launch more new products during this downturn]
[than in any time in our history. ]
[We will sell these products in every corner of the world. ]
[We're creating a better company coming out of this reset.]
[Similarly, America needs a dramatic industrial renewal, ]
[and I think the country needs to move forward on 5 fronts. ]
[First, we need to significantly increase investment ]
[in research and development from an all-time low of 2 percent of the GDP.]
[The only way to sustain a real competitive advantage is to ]
[invest in the needs of tomorrow. ]
[GE's never forgotten the importance of R&D. ]
[Each year we put 6 percent of our industrial revenue back into technologies. ]
[So much that more than half the products we sell today didn't exist 10 years ago. ]
[An American renewal has to be built on technology. ]
[Our R&D budget is the one budget that isn't being cut]
[in this downturn, and that's a course of action I'd ]
[recommend to every company that wants to get through this economic crisis]
[Second, America should get busy addressing]
[the two biggest global challenges--]
[clean energy and affordable healthcare. ]
[In the future, we can have far greater energy diversity and security, ]
[while reducing global warming. ]
[In the future, we can reduce healthcare inflation. ]
[All of this is within our reach. ]
[There's no question whether there will be breakthroughs in these areas, ]
[And the leader in these fields will dominate the global economy]
[Third, we must make a serious commitment to maufacturing and exports. ]
[This is a national imperative. ]
[We all know that the American consumer]
[will not lead this recovery. ]
[This economy must be driven by business investment and exports. ]
[America has to get back in that game. ]
[Fourth, we should welcome the government as a catalyst]
[There's a long history in this country of government spending]
[that prepares the way for new industries that thrive for generations. ]
[Think about the National Institute of Health or NASA]
[and all the new innovations that came out of these programs from computing]
[to communications to healthcare. ]
[America has that chance again with unprecedented levels ]
[of new government investment. ]
[The key is making sure those hundreds of billions of dollars fall on the fertile ground of ]
[innovation and not bureaucracy. ]
[Fifth, it is possible for a global business leader]
[We've got to partner in our communities. ]
[Big business should work with smaller companies and]
[supply chains to help them compete globally. ]
[And we should partner with local governments to fix our education system. ]
[In the end, business leaders]
[are responsible for the competitiveness]
[and we need to say that publicly. ]
[This will not hurt our ability to globalize. ]
[Rather, I think it will make other countries admire]
[because we have to end the impression that American]
[CEOs are short-term speculators. ]
[From this wild chaos, we'll create new opportunities]
[for the people of this city and this country.]
[We'll be prosperous and we'll be proud. ]
[I think it's time to think big again.]
[We've got to hold ourselves to a higher standard to renew]
[this economy and to embrace the same kind of dream that this city had]
