Ballmer to Democrats: Invest in innovation
Seattle PI | at | by Mike
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told U.S. House Democrats gathered for a retreat Friday that the United States needs to become less dependent on debt and instead has to invest in innovation for the economy to recover.
"America really has to return to growth that's built on innovation and productivity, rather than leverage and private debt," he said at the gathering in Williamsburg, Va.
He attributed much of the current financial crisis to an overreliance on borrowing.
"The hard truth is this, in my opinion," he said, "the private sector of our economy has borrowed too much money, businesses and consumers alike, fueled by a lot of different things, some notion that housing prices would go up forever, that you could borrow money cheaply."