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Governments need to lead on this. I am not sure how corporations can do this without just donating their infrastructure or profits (which would be a great thing
by quickthrower2 7y ago
Governments need to lead on this. I am not sure how corporations can do this without just donating their infrastructure or profits (which would be a great thing to do!). But even then their profits pale in comparison with the money the governments have at hand to spend on these things.
An investor can only invest in building things for which there are demand, and for things that benefit society at large that demand usually comes from the government. Sometimes from philanthropists - but they are piss poor compared to the resources of an entity that can demand tax from every citizen.
- wbl 7y agoYou think people don't ordinarily need PPE or ventilators? Or any other thing that we used to make?
- quickthrower2 7y agoI’m talking in context of preparedness for a pandemic, rather than healthcare BAU. This is the mood of the article which begins: > Every Western institution was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, despite many prior warnings. This monumental failure of institutional effectiveness will reverberate for the rest of the decade, but it’s not too early to ask why, and what we need to do about it. If you want to be prepared for a pandemic you need stuff built with orders from the government. Of course startups can help with innovation and may create things that make it easier to be prepared such as a low cost ventilator, but government needs to take care of preparing whatever the tech happens to be.
- MattGaiser 7y agoPPE and ventilators are already supplied by private companies.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]