cannuck
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One of my fields of endeavor have given me a perfect example of the difference between government trying to stick its nose into business where it doesn't belong (austensibly to "research" much of the time), and when it stays the hell out of our way and just lets us get on with things.What? Do you know what we're talking about here? I can name at least one fuel replacement that has been inexpensive and freely available for at least the last 40 years - propane. Heck, Henry Ford's vehicles originally ran on peanut oil. We've known since the beginning that vehicles could run on SVO/WVO. All this has been thoroughly researched. Why do you want to pay to do it all again?
Most of you know about Chuck Yeager being the first to break the sound barrier (although it could be that a certain private contractor pilot did so before him - in the same airplane) because we poured millions of dollars into that research effort for defense purposes. But, how many of you know the whole story about the first people to fly around the world non-stop, un-refueled? That was a HOMEBUILT airplane the Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager flew that was designed by his brother, Burt and built by an army of volunteers. One of the most amazing technological achievements of the last century. A lot of the tech developed came from the private pursuit of aerodynamic efficiency - once the job of the NACA, but long since abandoned when the bureaucrats figured out how much money they could get by becoming NASA.
Speaking of which: you KNOW it cost a king's ransom for NASA to put a man into space, but remember that the same guy (Burt Rutan) designed and built an airplane that successfully flew into space to claim the CIVILIAN X prize for a measly few million bux - far less than the monthly coffee and lunch budget inside of the Beltway.
When government attempts to do applied research, they out of necessity build an incredibly expensive, six-humped camel. When left to market forces and individual initiative, the result becomes elegantly simple and effective engineering. The purpose of a government is to get it's leaders elected. The purpose of a government bureaucracy is to get its agenda funded. These things are exactly what government should NOT be allowed in any way to do.
Now, let's look at another related thing: auto emissions. Yes, there is no doubt that cars today are incredibly clean relative to pre-'72. BUT, how did we get to this fantastic place? Did government design these cars? NO! Government did their job and researched the problem and REGULATED what industry had to do. And INDUSTRY did most of the applied research to make it actually happen.
Simple: Government - legislate, regulate, enforce, defend, infrastructure, fundamental research.
Private: applied research, product development, production, consumption, market, play by the rules.
these two lines are all that you need as a formula for success.