Innovation is important. After all, it is through innovation and the inevitable evolution that follows, that we have got to the point where we chose our leaders through a vote and not by wars. And that is exactly how a businessman managed to get into the top office in the world’s most powerful country. Recognizing the importance of innovation, US President Donald Trump is setting up a new White House office for “American Innovation”.
The office will be headed by none other than Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law. While this would have smacked of nepotism anywhere else, Kushner is reportedly a very capable young man in his own right. Although whether he is a suitable choice for this job is something that is the matter of debate. Kushner’s wife and President Trump’s oldest daughter Ivanka will also be collaborating with the office.
The office will hold extensive powers and will be capable of shaking things up in the system and implementing new procedures to make the pre-existing processes more efficient. The office will report directly to Trump and will have a very eminent panel of advisors including Apple’s Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Marc Benioff from Salesforce, Bill Gates and Ginni Rometty, the IBM CEO.
Speaking with the Washington Post, the US president said:
All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognize that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays. I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my ‘ahead of schedule, under budget’ mentality to the government.
However, the other side has arguments and strong ones as well. The federal government is already facing ire for grabbing too much power from other executive bodies. The new office will concentrate further powers inside the executive branch. However, the other side of this coin is that the Congress will get weaker and will lose some of its powers. Indeed, some political pundits are looking at it as an attempt upon the federal government’s part to get back at the congress for blocking some of the government’s proposed changes.
The group is comprised mostly of people from business background and seems to be in tandem with what many have been calling ‘the new government’s intent to run the US as a company’. Now whether that will be a good thing or a bad one, remains to be seen.
