To: Lane3 who wrote (10633 ) 10/21/2009 2:12:26 PM From: TimF Respond to Of course if you throw enough money and other resources at a specific achievable problem (example: Manhattan Project) you have a decent chance of achieving it. The problem with government is not so much that its incompetent at achieving such solutions (it can be, but often enough its not), but that it may misdiagnose the problems, that many important problems are far less specific (economics isn't as "solid" of science as physics, politics isn't engineering, people have their own opinions agendas and reactions), and that government is now doing so much that it moves far beyond its core competencies. Another problem is the growth of rules and bureaucracies over time. If we never had made nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants, I'm sure a government nuclear program could work at creating atomic bombs now, but I'm also pretty sure that even with the advantages of all the related technology, which should make the effort easier and cheaper and quicker, that a Manhattan project today would cost more.marginalrevolution.com
