Where is the innovation?

Now many people who watch/listen to my shows understand my philosophy and political leanings. i’m willing to give President Obama the benefit of the doubt on some things – when he mentioned that he was going to do a number of things to foster innovation, such as hold scientific summits in the White House etc, I thought, wow thats cool – maybe finally someone in the White House who understands that its innovation that is the engine of our economy – more than anything. Free markets are the foundation of a true robust economy, but innovation is the driver. The question is now however, why are we throwing billions into propping up industries that are dying due to lack of demand and mis-management, when we coudl be letting those industries die and supporting new ones that grow from the death of the old ones?

When a company goes under, the employees of that company are freed up to do mayn things. Some will go onto the unemployment rolls, some will move into other jobs at other companies, and some will strike out on their own. The people do not cease to exist, they simply do something different. For some, the job has locked them into a pattern which was comfortable, too comfortable to escape. For some, the job loss would unleash the innovation and creativity in their brains, and they could conceivably go off and create the next great product or service. And its those innovators that need to be supported, not the old-line firms which are locking up this creativity.

So I not only ask Obama not to prop up dying industries in order to save us tax money, I also ask Obama to let those people who are innovators in those companies free to innovate, and to support their innovations. Both will cost too much, one looks to the past and one looks to the future, and I think we all know which direction we should be looking in.