43 ms·

American government funded research that turns into a business creating jobs in America sounds like a reasonable outcome to me. After China stole solar, we need

by cheriot 10y ago

American government funded research that turns into a business creating jobs in America sounds like a reasonable outcome to me. After China stole solar, we need some other industry with growth potential. Edit: Do the down voters care to comment? Anti-nationalism, anti-capitalism, or what?

EpicEng 10y ago
I don't know why you're being down voted. It is in the public interest for businesses like these to prosper.
- cheriot 10y ago
  My conspiracy theory is that the comment swung from -4 to +4 as China went to sleep and the US arrived at work.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
touristtam 10y ago
The issue is publicly founded research aleviate the burden of the investment from the private sector, while selling the right to the new technology to a sole private entity. The whole thing could, unless the government blocked it, be sold to a private chinese company down the line.
- akiselev 10y ago
  This is how the system has worked, quite well, for decades if not centuries. The short term profit motive prevents the vast majority of companies from carrying out basic research like this and without IP protections most won't risk investing into manufacturing infrastructure that will quickly be copied in lower cost jurisdictions. There is a lot wrong with our patent system but it does its job for the most part.
- cheriot 10y ago
  > The whole thing could, unless the government blocked it, be sold to a private chinese company down the line. It wouldn't be the first battery company out of MIT to go that route. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A123_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A123_Systems If our trade policies assume a free market then we open the door to these situations. There's no free trade treaty to blame when China out maneuvers more developed countries like this. Perhaps the solution is to become more mercantilist instead of worshiping free markets.

by cheriot 10y ago

EpicEng 10y ago

I don't know why you're being down voted. It is in the public interest for businesses like these to prosper.

cheriot 10y ago
My conspiracy theory is that the comment swung from -4 to +4 as China went to sleep and the US arrived at work.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

touristtam 10y ago

The issue is publicly founded research aleviate the burden of the investment from the private sector, while selling the right to the new technology to a sole private entity. The whole thing could, unless the government blocked it, be sold to a private chinese company down the line.

akiselev 10y ago
This is how the system has worked, quite well, for decades if not centuries. The short term profit motive prevents the vast majority of companies from carrying out basic research like this and without IP protections most won't risk investing into manufacturing infrastructure that will quickly be copied in lower cost jurisdictions. There is a lot wrong with our patent system but it does its job for the most part.
cheriot 10y ago
> The whole thing could, unless the government blocked it, be sold to a private chinese company down the line. It wouldn't be the first battery company out of MIT to go that route. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A123_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A123_Systems If our trade policies assume a free market then we open the door to these situations. There's no free trade treaty to blame when China out maneuvers more developed countries like this. Perhaps the solution is to become more mercantilist instead of worshiping free markets.