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All of those were military projects except for the clean energy research and electric vehicle subsidies which I don't think were necessary (and both of which st

All of those were military projects except for the clean energy research and electric vehicle subsidies which I don't think were necessary (and both of which started under the Obama administration). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solyndra#Government_support https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solyndra#Government_support

lovehashbrowns 6y ago
NIH is not military. https://www.pnas.org/content/115/10/2329 https://www.pnas.org/content/115/10/2329 And we can go with your opinion that EV subsidies weren't necessary and take that as fact. Agricultural subsidies. Coal receives subsidies, too. Battery research funded by the DoD (military). Kodak and its ~760 Million dollar loan through the Defense Production Act. At this point, I'm moving away from the original point. I'm now swerving into subsidies and loans. Although they still stand to benefit private companies for endeavors that might not otherwise be profitable, I think there are far better examples. Let's talk about CERN. ️
- googthrowaway42 6y ago
  NIH came from the military. The internet is also not military but came from the military via ARPANET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institutes_of_Health#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institutes_of_Health#... I'm not saying there isn't a role for government in providing funding for or even management of large ambitious projects but for something like the post office I don't see the value. Even back when it was created, courier services were not some fantastical pie-in-the-sky endeavor like building a massive particle accelerator and research lab. The author of the article has basically said he just wants the tax payer to subsidize ecommerce businesses.
  - lovehashbrowns 6y ago
    I didn't know that about the NIH, thank you! And yes, it's basically subsidizing e-commerce. As I have shown through my examples, these types of subsidies are not new. Nor is it merely a subsidy for e-commerce. The USPS handles government mail, ballots and voter registration, delivering medication, etc. These functions should never rely on a for-profit private business. Mail delivery is a major part of the US infrastructure and USPS is crucial in standardizing costs for that.

lovehashbrowns 6y ago

NIH is not military. https://www.pnas.org/content/115/10/2329 https://www.pnas.org/content/115/10/2329 And we can go with your opinion that EV subsidies weren't necessary and take that as fact. Agricultural subsidies. Coal receives subsidies, too. Battery research funded by the DoD (military). Kodak and its ~760 Million dollar loan through the Defense Production Act. At this point, I'm moving away from the original point. I'm now swerving into subsidies and loans. Although they still stand to benefit private companies for endeavors that might not otherwise be profitable, I think there are far better examples. Let's talk about CERN. ️

googthrowaway42 6y ago
NIH came from the military. The internet is also not military but came from the military via ARPANET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institutes_of_Health#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institutes_of_Health#... I'm not saying there isn't a role for government in providing funding for or even management of large ambitious projects but for something like the post office I don't see the value. Even back when it was created, courier services were not some fantastical pie-in-the-sky endeavor like building a massive particle accelerator and research lab. The author of the article has basically said he just wants the tax payer to subsidize ecommerce businesses.
- lovehashbrowns 6y ago
  I didn't know that about the NIH, thank you! And yes, it's basically subsidizing e-commerce. As I have shown through my examples, these types of subsidies are not new. Nor is it merely a subsidy for e-commerce. The USPS handles government mail, ballots and voter registration, delivering medication, etc. These functions should never rely on a for-profit private business. Mail delivery is a major part of the US infrastructure and USPS is crucial in standardizing costs for that.