After a description of the economic development in the US during 2000-2016 some key issues are discussed ; the increasing inequality among workers with regard to the real wage increase and rate of unemployment, the considerable deficit on the government budget and balance of payment. According to the author the declining competitiveness and mercantilist policies in some foreign countries reduced market share of the US on the domestic and foreign market. This market loss had a negative impact on economic growth , employment, government budget and balance of payment. The author suggests that economic performance can be improved by investing in skills , promoting a level playing field with foreign countries and winning the race by a robust innovation system. For an analysis of the strong and weak points of the innovation system in the US information from the Global Information Index was used. From this information policies can be derived to boost innovation and improve the competitiveness of the US economy. Important policies are investment policies , educational policy and energy policy.