5 ms·

Any additional evidence (either for or against) the claim that government pays for tech advances, while the private sector is who sees a return from that?

• empath75 8y ago
  Federal spending accounts for 44% of basic research spending. at one point, it was as high as 70%. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/data-check-us-government-share-basic-research-funding-falls-below-50 https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/data-check-us-govern... Generally, the pattern has been that government and university funded researchers make the early discoveries, and then corporations do the research towards applying them. Universities benefit from patents, but the federal government doesn't.
  • JackFr 8y ago
    One of the things that makes research "basic research" is that there isn't an obvious financial incentive for it. IBM, AT&T and Xerox at the height if their monopolies could afford to do some, but in general it's a financial loss on the timescale of a human or a corporation. But what we see sometimes (alternative energy, drug research, e.g.) is government funding of applied research, and that isn't good for the market or the science, and should be called out.
    • Retric 8y ago
      Locking up applied research at companies often creates a lot waste as several companies do the same research and don’t share their results outside of patents/products.
  • sjg007 8y ago
    Feds get income tax revenue. They/we benefit.
    • DATACOMMANDER 8y ago
      They would have gotten that revenue even if the research had been privately funded.
• dredmorbius 8y ago
  Joe Stiglitz observes that information generally is a public good (in the economic sense).
• mbesto 8y ago
  This is a super grey area. As I'm sure most people are aware, most technology innovation is evolution, not revolution. The smartphone doesn't exist today without the desktop computer and failed attempts by Palm. The reality is as follows: - ARPANET is considered the earliest form of the internet, which was developed by DARPA (paid by taxpayers) - Many patents for internet based technologies are held (or were held) by universities which were paid for by taxpayers - The first proposal of hypertext by Tim Berners-Lee was done in his capacity as a contractor to CERN, which is a multi-government-backed entity The question, that will be debated for centuries, is who has profited from all of this? Just think of your laptop for a second. There are probably a million different functions, services, applications, etc. all playing together harmoniously. It's the purest form of amalgamated advances in both government backed projects, FOSS, and for-profit entities all dancing together harmoniously. Many people would argue the ones who sell the final good are creating the most value, because they are essentially responsible for bringing all of those disparate parts together, and hence why they would argue they deserve most of economic profit.
  • drawkbox 8y ago
    In both the government and private industry, both which are needed, the overlooked ones are the individuals and teams that make these innovations. The big fish are the government and private industry that helps drive forward, but when you break it down to the particles that make up the system, you'll find individuals, inventors, entrepreneurs, good managers, smart financial navigation and encouraging of the open creative state. Anything that allows the smallest of nodes in that system to flourish, the individuals, should be noticed and rewarded.
• nitwit005 8y ago
  What's the alternative exactly? What would a government do besides hand it over to corporations to use? Even if they wanted to use it purely internally, they'd have to hire a company to manufacture what they want. I suppose a country like China could use a state run company instead of a private one?