Has the U.S. government been more instrumental than Apple or Steve Jobs in developing the iPhone? It has, according to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who recently spoke at the Mid-Atlantic Democratic Platform Forum.


Has the U.S. government been more instrumental than Apple or Steve Jobs in developing the iPhone? 
It has, according to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who recently spoke at the Mid-Atlantic Democratic Platform Forum, reports the Washington Free Beacon. 
In a C-SPAN video posted online, she can be seen holding up her device while asking, “Anybody here have a smartphone?” 
She goes on to say, “In this smartphone, almost everything came from federal investments and research.” 
Pelosi then lists the specific technologies: “GPS, created by the military, flat screens, LLD, digital camera, wireless data compression, research into metal alloys for strength and lightweight, voice recognition…” 
And while she acknowledges that Steve Jobs is known for putting the components together in a well-designed package, she states, “Federal research invented it.” 
The Washington Free Beacon notes that her comments echo those previously made by President Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren expressing the idea that success can only be achieved with help from others. 
Mashable has interpreted Pelosi’s comments as her way of highlighting the importance of federally funded research.