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Almost any "federal government" branch in any national or transnational entity works that way. They still get results good enough to push technology forward by

by yulaow 6y ago

Almost any "federal government" branch in any national or transnational entity works that way. They still get results good enough to push technology forward by encouraging parallel private investments. I mean the whole USA tech sector was basically bootstrapped by federal money/grants/investments given in no different way of what EU is doing right now.

TeMPOraL 6y ago
And even earlier, in chemical and advanced manufacturing space - just how many of the well-known US companies started as small shops that got their hands on government grants during WWII?
- cinquemb 6y ago
  > … government grants during WWII Seems like we're missing some "proper" motivation/focus/constraints now like war on this scale can provide… not just the EU, but this kind of diktat-innovation is increasingly more present everywhere… Probably goes hand in hand with the ever present bailout olympics for those deemed TBTF…
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    I used to believe the "proper motivation" - like winning the war - mattered. Then I read "War Is a Racket", a 1935 short book by US general Smedley Darlington Butler, which in many places argues that even during an active war, companies will happily steal and squander the war funding. So now I'm not sure how much you can expect from such motivation. Probably it's best to assume that some amount of graft will always happen, just dump the money, and hope something good comes out of it...
    - cinquemb 6y ago
      Well i'm not sure gunboat diplomacy and banana/global policing wars provide sufficient motivation compared to total wars… can only steal and squander so much before your factories get bombed and supply chains crippled. I would agree if only the money dumps stopped ending up going mostly in the same places… lol
LudwigNagasena 6y ago
> USA tech sector was basically bootstrapped by federal money/grants/investments given in no different way of what EU is doing right now There are MANY different ways to channel money into business or non-profit R&D. I doubt you can ignore all the differences and declare that what the US and the EU do or did is the same. I am not saying it doesn’t exist, but I am personally not aware of any similar multibillion declaration made by the US.

by yulaow 6y ago

TeMPOraL 6y ago

And even earlier, in chemical and advanced manufacturing space - just how many of the well-known US companies started as small shops that got their hands on government grants during WWII?

cinquemb 6y ago
> … government grants during WWII Seems like we're missing some "proper" motivation/focus/constraints now like war on this scale can provide… not just the EU, but this kind of diktat-innovation is increasingly more present everywhere… Probably goes hand in hand with the ever present bailout olympics for those deemed TBTF…
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  I used to believe the "proper motivation" - like winning the war - mattered. Then I read "War Is a Racket", a 1935 short book by US general Smedley Darlington Butler, which in many places argues that even during an active war, companies will happily steal and squander the war funding. So now I'm not sure how much you can expect from such motivation. Probably it's best to assume that some amount of graft will always happen, just dump the money, and hope something good comes out of it...
  - cinquemb 6y ago
    Well i'm not sure gunboat diplomacy and banana/global policing wars provide sufficient motivation compared to total wars… can only steal and squander so much before your factories get bombed and supply chains crippled. I would agree if only the money dumps stopped ending up going mostly in the same places… lol

LudwigNagasena 6y ago

> USA tech sector was basically bootstrapped by federal money/grants/investments given in no different way of what EU is doing right now There are MANY different ways to channel money into business or non-profit R&D. I doubt you can ignore all the differences and declare that what the US and the EU do or did is the same. I am not saying it doesn’t exist, but I am personally not aware of any similar multibillion declaration made by the US.