Original ideas seem to be difficult to discover and implement. But, there may be some caveats here. The definition being used here is that original is at the beginning, the first, not discovered or disclosed before. It has been suggested that there are no original ideas, only original people. It is said that entrepreneurs are better at presenting ideas as new or better. They would also say that originality has little to do with successful marketing. Coke and Pepsi are essentially the same products but both are billion dollar companies.
Although there may be some merit to the marketing concept, I disagree with the premise that there are no new ideas. My thought is that the idea is original to that particular thinker and not that it is already known. For example, when the wheel was first discovered by a person, or people, it would be considered an original idea. But what if that same wheel was also discovered at the same time somewhere distant from the first wheel and without knowledge of the discovery? I submit that the idea is original to the new inventor or inventors. If the idea is new and original to the thinker, then it is original. It may be of no commercial value because of the existence of others of the same kind, but it is new and novel to the thinker. I guess that may be where the expression “reinventing the wheel” came from.
I have several US patents and the patent office has said that they are “new and novel” when they granted the patent. It simply means that the patent office found no other ideas (prior art) that were the same.  But they can’t really know that for sure. What if my ideas were written up by someone else but never published?  But like the second wheel, these ideas were original to me. In this instance, the patent office agreed.
As a sideline, the patent office does make an effort to find prior art. I like the example of the patent application that used ping poll balls to raise sunken ships. The thought was that the air enclosed in the ping pong balls would displace the water if enough were used. But, the patent examiner found a comic book with Donald Duck and his nephews using the same idea some twenty years earlier. The application was denied as there was prior art that had been disclosed. But, I believe that it was still an original idea.
The trend here is that new ideas will be thought about every day by many people. Some will be out of necessity, some for mental exercise, and some for fun. But, they will all be original…

There are many problems that have been exacerbated by the weak economy, but at least one is very much under reported.  The recovery of an incredible number of mentally ill individuals is being negatively affected. I have worked in the field for 15 years and see the current problem becoming more significant than it has been in over 40 years.
Those suffering from mental illness including major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder are at risk of returning to the dark days of mental illness history.
Prior to the 1960's, patients with most major mental illnesses were confined in either a state hospital or other private sanatorium. Their lifetimes and quality of life were limited and they were considered burdens on society. Families did not discuss members who were hospitalized and the problems were buried.
But, in the late1960's and early 1970's. a new paradigm was introduced. Recovery was possible if the patient left the hospital and returned to the home and community, with support from mental health facilities across the country. Over the past 40 years the vast network of mental health centers has allowed for incredible changes in the outlook for the mentally ill. The treatment provided by these satellite centers provided psychiatric care, therapy, medications, and case management to support the patient as they resumed to life at work, relationships, and recovery. The funding for these services has been provided by Medicare and Medicaid, with shared costs between the states and the federal government. But funding is drying up for teachers, government staff, and for the mental health facilities. Health and human services are now becoming the first place to cut the budget. And, with less support the patients who are working and living in the communities are at risk. And the future is not looking very good.
The trend as I see it is that even if the economy improves, the federal government and state agencies will be reluctant to increase spending for mental health services. There is always a bridge to nowhere to be built...