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Hearing Republicans hyperventilate about Solyndra et al drives me up a wall. Private VC firms invest all the time in companies that fail, but somehow the gover

by balloot 14y ago

Hearing Republicans hyperventilate about Solyndra et al drives me up a wall. Private VC firms invest all the time in companies that fail, but somehow the government is supposed to have a 100% success rate in its VC investments? Please spare us your concern.

barry-cotter 14y ago
The government should not be in the VC business at all. It gets its cut of all economic activity so for a government controlling as much of global GDP as the US grants like DARPA gives are justifiable. Politically motivated "VC" is not. If you care about CO2 emissions the corn ethanol subsidies are bullshit and for much the same reasons so was Solyndra. Both are great examples of doing it wrong.
- zhaphod 14y ago
  You know what. I will take 100 failed Solyndras over one war of lies and death and destruction.
  - cmccabe 14y ago
    Because the alternative to funding Solyndras is clearly wars? You do realize the disastrous ethanol subsidies were expanded during the Bush years, right? There's a lot of blame to go around for everyone on Capitol Hill. I don't see a problem with the kind of research Obama wants to fund, but the money should go to universities producing publicly available research.
    - zhaphod 14y ago
      >> Because the alternative to funding Solyndras is clearly wars? What I meant was that it is important to have perspective. My problem is that Solyndra and Tesla are being held to a different standard altogether when it comes to Government spending. I am sick and tired of people complaining about these companies getting loan guarantees. Instead of looking at these loans in isolation they should look at the percentage of successful loans/guarantees made by the DoE. When you look at it from that perspective, money spent by DoE is the best bang for buck the Govt has got. We will never have a perfect scenario for Government spending. We should encourage innovation wherever it is happening be it a private company or a public entity as long as it fits in the overall strategy of moving the country forward. Upside to a successful Tesla cannot be valued in just dollars.
      - crusso 14y ago
        looking at these loans in isolation I totally look at the loans in isolation. I ask: Should the government be involved in the free market by attempting to pick investments in order to guide growth in certain sectors of the economy? My answer is: No. The Constitution does not allow for the government to perform this type of activity. Thus, the States did not agree to allow the Federal government to perform this type of activity. Due to the special place, power, and privilege of the Federal government - preventing overreach should be a prime concern for all citizens. If the citizenry decides to fundamentally and explicitly change the role of the Federal government, the Constitution should be amended to support that new role.

by balloot 14y ago

barry-cotter 14y ago

The government should not be in the VC business at all. It gets its cut of all economic activity so for a government controlling as much of global GDP as the US grants like DARPA gives are justifiable. Politically motivated "VC" is not. If you care about CO2 emissions the corn ethanol subsidies are bullshit and for much the same reasons so was Solyndra. Both are great examples of doing it wrong.

zhaphod 14y ago
You know what. I will take 100 failed Solyndras over one war of lies and death and destruction.
- cmccabe 14y ago
  Because the alternative to funding Solyndras is clearly wars? You do realize the disastrous ethanol subsidies were expanded during the Bush years, right? There's a lot of blame to go around for everyone on Capitol Hill. I don't see a problem with the kind of research Obama wants to fund, but the money should go to universities producing publicly available research.
  - zhaphod 14y ago
    >> Because the alternative to funding Solyndras is clearly wars? What I meant was that it is important to have perspective. My problem is that Solyndra and Tesla are being held to a different standard altogether when it comes to Government spending. I am sick and tired of people complaining about these companies getting loan guarantees. Instead of looking at these loans in isolation they should look at the percentage of successful loans/guarantees made by the DoE. When you look at it from that perspective, money spent by DoE is the best bang for buck the Govt has got. We will never have a perfect scenario for Government spending. We should encourage innovation wherever it is happening be it a private company or a public entity as long as it fits in the overall strategy of moving the country forward. Upside to a successful Tesla cannot be valued in just dollars.
    - crusso 14y ago
      looking at these loans in isolation I totally look at the loans in isolation. I ask: Should the government be involved in the free market by attempting to pick investments in order to guide growth in certain sectors of the economy? My answer is: No. The Constitution does not allow for the government to perform this type of activity. Thus, the States did not agree to allow the Federal government to perform this type of activity. Due to the special place, power, and privilege of the Federal government - preventing overreach should be a prime concern for all citizens. If the citizenry decides to fundamentally and explicitly change the role of the Federal government, the Constitution should be amended to support that new role.