Time for another exciting episode of Debunking Conservative Bullshit. In this episode we explore the widely believed but utterly idiotic notion that government is an impediment to innovation and that only the private sector can effectively can create new technologies. Government has brought you: The Space Program - All you ever hear about are Tang and Velcro, but the space program has created more technical innovations than you can ever know in aerospace, life support, health, etc, etc. The Military - Say what you like about war, but it has been an awesome source of innovation over the years. Ever heard of the Manhattan Project? Think any private companies would have ever stepped up and delivered on that one? The NIH - directly responsible for far more than half of all drug and pharmaceutical innovations of the past 50 years. Research by publicly funded universities - Boundlesss sources of technological innovation. The US Interstate Highway System - Wed still be in horses and buggies if there hadnt been a system of highways to drive cars on. But, you say, what about Silicon Valley? Surely thats an icon of private innovation. Well, kind of. In fact, it was started by a plethora of defense contracts Well, Apple then. Didnt the genius of Steve Jobs and his minions bring us all those awesome devices. Again, kind of. Every SINGLE foundational technology that allowed iPods, iPhones, and iPads to be invented originated with government sponsored work, including graphical user interfaces, battery advances, solid state circuitry design, and the GPS system, without which your iPhone would have no idea where it is or how to get you someplace else. Oh, and lets not forget the Internet itself, originally a creation of not Al Gore but DARPA, and originally built for the primary purpose of ensuring continuity of government communication in the event of WW3 (not for posting cat videos). In summary, contrary to traditional conservative bullshit propaganda (perhaps best exemplified by that conservative icon Milton Friedman when he so astutely asserted The great advances of civilization have never come from centralized government.), in fact the vast MAJORITY of technological innovation that has taken place in this country (and worldwide for that matter) has been the product of your tax dollars funding government-led research initiatives. DAMN it. Facts just SUCK, dont they??
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 00:22:50 +0000
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