Interesting article. I agree with how the issues were framed for the most part, but I disagree with several other parts of the article. I'll focus on two areas.
First, carefully aimed government intervention can create enormous leaps in innovation and economic growth. Many examples of this exist in American economic history, but let me present you with just one: NASA’s space program in the 1960’s. Government sponsorship of the program allowed for rapid advances to be made in agriculture, digital technology (huge), synthetic materials (think artificial heart), semiconductors, water purification systems, solar energy and much more. Perhaps these new innovations could have been achieved without NASA, but it’s very clear that NASA accelerated the pace of innovation. We need more NASA-like programs and the government can make this happen.
Second, it seems countries that focus on becoming consumption-based economies largely at the expense of being producers experience problems down the road. Japan’s economy, for all the things that are wrong with it, seems to be another example of this phenomenon. They allowed the sector that was responsible for securitizing speculative bets on condos and golf courses (sounds familiar) become large enough to hurt the country and the region. It seems to me we need a healthy balance here. Longer story…
The author briefly touched on this point but I want to make the point more clear – deregulation is the major cause of the recent collapse in the financial system. Sure, we can blame the crisis on those sub-prime borrowers (not that the author did so) but we were willing to create additional debt and equity products from these “bad borrowers” so that we can make more money from folks who were clearly living above their means. Revisiting the rules of leverage, derivatives, and the kinds of businesses financial institutions can play in will be needed to prevent another collapse.
One more thing – politicians and think-tanks make me laugh when they keep presenting policy options that are binary. Any organization – public or private – that lacks a focused mission and lacks employees who are disconnected from that mission are bound to be ineffective. Deregulating schools is not the magic bullet. The solution, as usual, likely sits somewhere in the middle…
song currently stuck in my head: “from the beginning” – emerson lake & palmer
One...market sizing...sometimes...or at least your boss gets off your back when you say you pulled the numbers from Gartner...
Two...consulting firms read Gartner every month to determine what subject(s) clients will become paranoid about during the current month, then the firms sell into the paranoia...
(heh) I don't mean for it to sound the way it does...
Depending on your business problem and/or perspective, a five-figure Gartner subscription may or may not be worth it...
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by kambui.
TWO PROBLEMS...
First, carefully aimed government intervention can create enormous leaps in innovation and economic growth. Many examples of this exist in American economic history, but let me present you with just one: NASA’s space program in the 1960’s. Government sponsorship of the program allowed for rapid advances to be made in agriculture, digital technology (huge), synthetic materials (think artificial heart), semiconductors, water purification systems, solar energy and much more. Perhaps these new innovations could have been achieved without NASA, but it’s very clear that NASA accelerated the pace of innovation. We need more NASA-like programs and the government can make this happen.
Second, it seems countries that focus on becoming consumption-based economies largely at the expense of being producers experience problems down the road. Japan’s economy, for all the things that are wrong with it, seems to be another example of this phenomenon. They allowed the sector that was responsible for securitizing speculative bets on condos and golf courses (sounds familiar) become large enough to hurt the country and the region. It seems to me we need a healthy balance here. Longer story…
The author briefly touched on this point but I want to make the point more clear – deregulation is the major cause of the recent collapse in the financial system. Sure, we can blame the crisis on those sub-prime borrowers (not that the author did so) but we were willing to create additional debt and equity products from these “bad borrowers” so that we can make more money from folks who were clearly living above their means. Revisiting the rules of leverage, derivatives, and the kinds of businesses financial institutions can play in will be needed to prevent another collapse.
One more thing – politicians and think-tanks make me laugh when they keep presenting policy options that are binary. Any organization – public or private – that lacks a focused mission and lacks employees who are disconnected from that mission are bound to be ineffective. Deregulating schools is not the magic bullet. The solution, as usual, likely sits somewhere in the middle…
song currently stuck in my head: “from the beginning” – emerson lake & palmer
WHAT IS GARTNER GOOD FOR?
One...market sizing...sometimes...or at least your boss gets off your back when you say you pulled the numbers from Gartner...
Two...consulting firms read Gartner every month to determine what subject(s) clients will become paranoid about during the current month, then the firms sell into the paranoia...
(heh) I don't mean for it to sound the way it does...
Depending on your business problem and/or perspective, a five-figure Gartner subscription may or may not be worth it...
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by kambui.
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