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Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

victusspiritus.com

1–10 of 17 posts

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#3
I have a tiered system of ideas. At the bottom I have the easiest and cheapest to deploy (aka web based), and as I move up the tiers the ideas become more expensive and require more capital than I have right now -- these costs are prohibitive in my execution.

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#4
>>>The most beneficial action government can take to support long term growth of startup ecosystems throughout the nation are large Research and Development projects.

Unfortunately the government can't magically create resources. The only thing the government can do is reallocate funds from one area to another which is inefficient. The most efficient form of allocating resources is the market, not central planning.

When the market allocates resources there is a much greater chance of the resources being put to good use because they are seeking to generate a profit. In order to generate a profit people must not only want something, but find the price reasonable.

When the government allocates funds it takes money away from entrepreneurs. More often than not what the government invests in would not be bought by citizens for how much resources they actually put into it. This is completely inefficient, as we are putting in let's say 100,000$ to get something that is worth 10,000$ to the people using it. If this were a business, they would be operating at a huge loss and go out of business. But since it is the government they don't go out of business and continue to misallocate resources.

In the off chance that the government uses these resources efficiently, it is certainly not because of any magical "gift" the government has. In this case, the same exact thing could have been accomplished by entrepreneurs. In fact, entrepreneurs are incentivized to seek out these opportunities because there is profit involved.

The only investments we need the "gift" of government to pursue are those that we get less value out of than we put into. It's hard to argue that these are good investments.

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#5
post #4

>>>The most beneficial action government can take to support long term growth of startup ecosystems throughout the nation are large Research and Development projects. Unfortunately the government can't magically create resources. The only thing the government can do is reallocate funds from one area to another which is inefficient. The most efficient form of allocating resources is the market, not central planning. W…

>The only investments we need the "gift" of government to pursue are those that we get less value out of than we put into.

Or those that need more than one person to implement. An entrepreneur can decide to buy a cab and offer rides to the airport - but there isn't much point unless a million tax payers have already got together and built the freeway.

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#6
post #5
post #4

>>>The most beneficial action government can take to support long term growth of startup ecosystems throughout the nation are large Research and Development projects. Unfortunately the government can't magically create resources. The only thing the government can do is reallocate funds from one area to another which is inefficient. The most efficient form of allocating resources is the market, not central planning. W…

>The only investments we need the "gift" of government to pursue are those that we get less value out of than we put into. Or those that need more than one person to implement. An entrepreneur can decide to buy a cab and offer rides to the airport - but there isn't much point unless a million tax payers have already got together and built the freeway.

Entrepreneurs and businesses can hire workers just like the government can.

And public works such as roads and bridges also apply to my argument. For example the infamous "bridge to nowhere". A lot of these projects are a waste of resources. If the private sector were in charge of building roads/bridges they would be much more inclined to make sure they were actually needed and good investments.

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#7
post #4

>>>The most beneficial action government can take to support long term growth of startup ecosystems throughout the nation are large Research and Development projects. Unfortunately the government can't magically create resources. The only thing the government can do is reallocate funds from one area to another which is inefficient. The most efficient form of allocating resources is the market, not central planning. W…

In this case, the same exact thing could have been accomplished by entrepreneurs. In fact, entrepreneurs are incentivized to seek out these opportunities because there is profit involved.

The first assertion is not true, and in fact the second assertion is the reason. Entrepreneurs are incentivized, but it is an incentive to get rich quick. If I as a VC can make 10x my investment in 2 years by investing in a 'Hot or Not' web app, I'll do that rather than invest in a fundamental technology that produces a 10x return in 15 years. The market is very focused on web apps now because there are great opportunities for viral growth at the expense of existing businesses. This is cannibalization, not real wealth creation. We should really stop referring to web businesses as tech companies: few of them produce any more real technology than your average McDonalds.

Government plays a valuable role precisely because it invests in technologies that are unlikely to produce a return but nonetheless could provide the basis for new businesses that can in the future. The Internet itself is a good example.

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#8
post #7
post #4

>>>The most beneficial action government can take to support long term growth of startup ecosystems throughout the nation are large Research and Development projects. Unfortunately the government can't magically create resources. The only thing the government can do is reallocate funds from one area to another which is inefficient. The most efficient form of allocating resources is the market, not central planning. W…

In this case, the same exact thing could have been accomplished by entrepreneurs. In fact, entrepreneurs are incentivized to seek out these opportunities because there is profit involved. The first assertion is not true, and in fact the second assertion is the reason. Entrepreneurs are incentivized, but it is an incentive to get rich quick. If I as a VC can make 10x my investment in 2 years by investing in a 'Hot or…

Is getting rich a bad incentive? In order to get rich you must provide people with goods/services that they want at a price they can afford. It's win/win.

If the general public wants Hot or Not apps that is what they will get. Who are you to decide that their money/resources should instead be used on something that you want?

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#9
post #6
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The only investments we need the "gift" of government to pursue are those that we get less value out of than we put into. Or those that need more than one person to implement. An entrepreneur can decide to buy a cab and offer rides to the airport - but there isn't much point unless a million tax payers have already got together and built the freeway.

Entrepreneurs and businesses can hire workers just like the government can. And public works such as roads and bridges also apply to my argument. For example the infamous "bridge to nowhere". A lot of these projects are a waste of resources. If the private sector were in charge of building roads/bridges they would be much more inclined to make sure they were actually needed and good investments.

I don't understand why business project failures are treated like normal occurrences but government project failures are treated like fundamental and systemic problems with social democracy.

Re: Want to Startup America, fund Mega Projects and R&D not more web apps

#10
post #4

>>>The most beneficial action government can take to support long term growth of startup ecosystems throughout the nation are large Research and Development projects. Unfortunately the government can't magically create resources. The only thing the government can do is reallocate funds from one area to another which is inefficient. The most efficient form of allocating resources is the market, not central planning. W…

So, would you say the NSF is a money pit?
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