Diamond Author
In the United States we pride ourselves in innovation, we think of ourselves and the entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators of the world. Americans are always dreaming up new ideas and concepts, it's practically an American Tradition. In fact, we cannot understand why other nation's populations cannot or will not innovate, and perhaps, some of us feel superior due to this observation. Yet, before we get too ego-centric over the whole thing or break our arms patting ourselves on the back, we need to step back and consider how often we crush innovation.
Not long ago, our Young President stated; "What We Want is More Innovation in America!" And the crowd roared back with applause. That must have been a fun thing to say in front of 1350 innovators, industry giants, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and research graduate students. Indeed, whoever is writing those lines for the teleprompter sure knows how to work a crowd. Unfortunately, it's only political rhetoric really, and no, I am not a cynic, I am an innovator in my own right, a damn good one I might add [opinion of course].
Still, what I find is that we go out of our way to tell everyone we want innovation, but then we crush it at every turn. We use regulations, rules, taxes, laws, and codes in our government to stifle it. Our industries use lobbying, underhanded tactics, and call in regulatory bodies to stop it. Of course, we call it "disruptive technology" and then all of a sudden a particular innovation = evil for some reason. It's such nonsense, it's such a fraud, and it really is all I can help to stop myself from laughing when I hear some politician get up behind a podium and say something like that.
The United States is furious when the Chinese steal our technology using their industrial spies and espionage tactics, and yes, they should be. But our own worst enemy is ourselves as paranoid large corporations fear the in-country start-up which will leap frog their technology and make them obsolete dinosaurs. In reality they already are, and to prove it we prop them up with protectionist regulations, and fund them with Taxpayer's money under the new mantra of "Too Big to Fail," which is utterly laughable. Too bureaucratic to succeed is more like it.
Yes, just like our government, in its infinite wisdom throws public money at pet project innovation research and then crush anything else that competes with it. Take "ocean wave energy" something we should be bringing to market, and yet, we fund unreliable energy like wind turbine technologies, and give corporate welfare to light bulb makers using laws, tax incentives, research grants, and rebates. The other day, I bought a new golf cart, which is street legal around here, and I get a $4,000 rebate on my taxes. Of course, the only golf carts available were made in China, just like all the solar panels.
We are not stimulating innovation. We are throwing out free-money and corporate welfare, stimulating foreign nations, and lying to ourselves saying we are innovating. If we really wanted to innovate, we'd get the government out of the way, reduce taxes for innovative companies and entrepreneurs, and stop the barriers to entry from ridiculous regulations. We'd stop pretending we want to innovate and actually let it happen. Of course, our politicians couldn't take credit for it, but they'd find something else to take credit for, I promise you that. Let them put their names on bridges and buildings, but let's leave the innovation to the innovators.
Guess what, real innovators don't need the government's hand outs. Please, tell the puppet politicians to stop the charade, ditch their teleprompters and podiums; and come join us in the real world, without creating this illusion of nonsense for their personal praise, applause, and future political war chests.
Please think on this, I am not pleased with what I've seen.
