There might be a little confusion with semantics here. I don't believe any of us can argue that the US has't led MOST of the world in innovations that are adopted on a large scale.

There is a difference between being innovative and actually having the resources to profit from that innovation. I've seen ingenious solutions to problems in my travels, but due to the lack of marketing/funding/distribution/etc., these inventions/solutions are only adopted by the town the inventor lives in.

ed, sp.error.