Technology!

Tom Friedman wants the government to focus on "real innovators," and to that end, he has a suggestion:

As we invest taxpayer money, let’s do it with an eye to starting a new generation of biotech, info-tech, nanotech and clean-tech companies, with real innovators, real 21st-century jobs and potentially real profits for taxpayers.

Notice a theme? Honestly, I think that in Friedman's mind, technology is synonymous with innovation. If your industry ends in "tech," you're an innovator. If not, you're dead weight, and will probably be crushed by the Super-Awesome Globalization Machine anyway.

For someone who loves free markets, innovation, and entrepreneurs, and who hates excessive regulation, Friedman sure spends a lot of time advocating for a strong U.S. industrial policy.