Issue 345 Government V. Private funding May 28, 2014

The Government seems to take a lot of credit for a lot of inventions in America.  But in fact private (who does it better) is looked down upon.  But in truth the government plays a supporting role to the private with respect to inventions and progress.  Let's discuss.

What Government has helped do and how:  Government generally gets credit for creating the internet, space travel and a host of other gadgets, gizmos and tech.  But in truth, all they did was pay private companies or individuals to help build these various pieces of technology. So in truth government, while it was involved in the funding and acquisition of the good/service, it was not the government who invented it.  However, government does continue to play a supporting role even after the invention is finished.  For instance, nuclear technology is supported by the government through subsidies.  This government money insures that a nuclear power-plant remains cheap to build for the company that will ultimately run and operate the facility.  This occurs again with respect to electric cars, and solar/wind farms.  Money is provided by the government to make it cheaper to build and even operate over the course of time.  The main drawback is that it costs us, the taxpayers’ money to do so.  Also, there is zero guarantee of success of the investment.  Unlike the private sector good money can be wasted if the people in government refuse to give up on a worthy cause.

Private:  The private sector as stated in previous articles is more flexible and capable than its government counterpart.  It can find a niche market and profit from it. Not to mention the fact that it costs the taxpayers no money.  With flexibility and innovation the private market turned the internet into the key component of business in the 21st century.  They gave us the car, the train, the plane, the telephone and nearly everything else we take for granted each and every day.  Now we have places where we can invest money to create new things called crowd funding.  Here a movie producer, an inventor or really anyone with a product or an idea can ask for money to be donated to them in order for their goal to be achieved.  Nowhere else is this possible than in the private sector.  However, if no profit is to be made, then the business venture may die off and not return until a later time when the invention or product is more feasible.  This is because not all inventions can be successful, which results in stagnation in particular instances.  Also, a business may hold back on bringing a new technology onto market because it threatens one of their already existing products. 

Conclusion:  So who is better, a government with nearly unlimited resources, or a private institution where there is more guarantee that no money will be wasted.  Government can't claim responsibility for all that has been invented as all has been done through private individuals or groups.  It can however say it helped.  So who would you rely on, a government that can waste your money, or a private company whom you may have to be patient with?  From my little experience, I will take the private sector for at least I'm nearly guaranteed to have a successful product.