Shouldn’t We Get At Least Some of the Government We Pay For?
One of my favorite quotes is, “It’s a damn good thing we don’t get all the government we pay for!” If we got full value for all the money we spend on the government, we might very well be living under a Big Brother regime, and I’m just not into that.
At the same time, shouldn’t we get some of the government we pay for? I just read a righteous rant from Andy Grove, co-founder of Intel, in Fortune Magazine on an appropriate way for the government to step in and help the automotive industry build an electric car.
Short Term Consumer Memory
One of the things that drives me crazy is the shortness of the average consumer’s memory. Last summer, when gas prices were headed for the $5-per-gallon market, people were screaming for alternate fuel sources. I show horses and drive a truck-and-trailer rig, so I know. Now that diesel fuel is hovering around two bucks a gallon, it’s like consumers can’t remember the pain of it all. The demand of electric cars has suddenly disappeared, poof, in a puff of smoke. All is well.
Grove reminds us that all is not well. Sure, the sad state of the economy is big news right now, so the need for alternate fuel sources is on the back burner, but Grove reminds us that when the economy bounces back, fuel is going to be big news. Big guns like China and Russia are going to be competing with the U.S. will be competing for the same finite fuel resources, and that could get ugly.
Renewable energy sources could solve this problem, and that’s where Grove suggests the government collaborate with U.S. car makers NOW to create a viable domestic car battery.
Viable Collaboration Between Government and Industry
Grove points to an example of successful collaboration between the U.S. government and industry: the early days of the microprocessor. With help from the government, in 1947 Bell Labs developed the transistor, a crucial component that eventually led to the development of the integrated circuit and the microprocessor. Bell Labs then licensed that technology. A similar story holds true when the U.S. government assisted the U.S. microchip companies.
Andy Groves and Gordon Moore are both heroes of mine. I vote with Andy. Bailouts we don’t need from the government. But support for industry and small business for innovation and technology development? Bring it on!
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Photo credit: CNN-Money
