"As if governments have any sort of decent track record on spending intelligently." Samsung and Hyundai would be prime examples of companies that would not exi

"As if governments have any sort of decent track record on spending intelligently." Samsung and Hyundai would be prime examples of companies that would not exist if not for direct intelligent investment of significant government money. How else could South Korea compete with China and Japan "next door" if not for a focused effort such as what was done there? It would be quite difficult and I strongly doubt they would be anything like what they are today. It's just regional perspective, I mean I'm quite happy with our taxation vs services provided (at both personal and corporate level). Free healthcare, 12 months maternity leave for my wife, subsidized daycare, clean water, decent EI just in case, etc, etc. Although it's Canada, so the weather sucks for most of the year.