> Programmers that don't work at tech companies work somewhere else Yes, but maybe at a lower salary > investors that don't invest in tech companies invest in

> Programmers that don't work at tech companies work somewhere else Yes, but maybe at a lower salary > investors that don't invest in tech companies invest in something else Maybe at a lower return. Countries that don't invest in high-growth sectors (which means high-tech) will over the long run have lower growth rates than ones that do. > So it's wrong to say that just because a country doesn't have any tech companies it's poorer, and that protectionism for tech companies will make it richer. When companies have a monopoly, they are able to generate an economic rent, which makes everyone except their shareholders poorer. Furthermore there is the sovereignty argument: a country not in control over its information infrastructure isn't really independent. So if a country can generate its own equivalents of Twitter, Facebook, Android, Google search, etc, there may well be a good case for it doing so.