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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (594)	7/7/2008 5:02:54 PM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86355

me: We could go at our current pace and we'll get there eventually through market forces, but other countries will own all the patents and wealth creation of the new industries. Or we could incubate it and get there fast with government help, and we'll hold most of the wealth creation engines, just like we did from the Internet. you: The federal government isn't making anything off the internet, is it? And I can't imagine that the US government, if it were to hold valuable energy patents, would demand kings ransoms (or any ransoms) from other countries. Giving such patents away would be the most environmentally friendly thing to do. I think this line of argument therefore is based on mythical assumptions. Wow! You completely missed my point. Our government invented the Internet along with the help of some researches in Europe. However, our government was very friendly towards the Internet being turned over to industry so that US citizens could make money on it. In addition, they cut all sorts of deals to subsidize the industry and ensure that American companies and citizens got the lion's share of the patents and profits. That's what I'm talking about. Our government exists to serve us. We elect government leaders to help us organize and create national strategies to make us wealthier and increase our standard of living, and to protect us. When they aren't leading, they are wasting our money. Our government should be leading on the alternative energy front, but they are doing nothing, even as our US companies and Silicon Valley are doing their damnedest to compete. That is nothing short of negligent on the part of our Government.

To: Brumar89 who wrote (594)	7/7/2008 5:06:54 PM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86355

I didn't know Silicon Valley was government planned. In fact, I don't think it was. I think venture capitalists planned new developments in our high tech industries w/o any govt overlords guiding them. Which government officials were the key planners of Silicon Valley (surely you're not crediting Gore with inventing the internet?)? I am still skeptical. I didn't say that Silicon Valley was government planned. Again you miss the point. Copious studies have been made of Silicon Valley to understand what the secret sauce of that region's success is. Most credible studies come to the same conclusion: that the secret sauce is a synergistic union of government, academia, and industry. When you have all three institutions pulling together, market forces are unleashed that can unlock incredible wealth. My entire point is that we should use that model's success as a blueprint for unleashing the market potential in the alternative energy industry. However, if we only rely on one leg of the stool, industry, as you suggest, then that would fly in the face of the very best things we have learned from Silicon Valley's success. Why be stupid when we can be smart?