Thread: This Is Not A CraigsList Notice

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Originally Posted by Mike P

I think the gist of it is whether the Government should become involved in the risky business of investing our tax dollars in developing emerging technologies.

You're right, Mike. In recent months we have stood in awe of the success our government has had investing our money for us.

[QUOTE=herbet99;478104] ( 4) create a government sponsored project(s), akin to the Manhattan Project or putting a man on the moon, to a) design a better and cheaper electric car and/or b) design a better and cheaper hydrogen car and build a nation wide infrastructure for hydrogen delivery. /QUOTE]

That sounds okay, too, but .........

What if the government could be taken out of the picture?

In 1908 the London Daily Mail put up a prize of 500 Pounds Sterling for the first person to fly across the English Channel in an (other-than-lighter-than-air) aircraft. A man named Louis Bleriot collected that one.

Then a hundred years later (2009) Burt Rutan won the "Ansari X" prize of $10,000,000 bucks for being the first non-government organization to accomplish sending a reusable manned spacecraft into space. He had to do it twice in two weeks to collect the prize.

What I'm leading up to is this: Put up a huge prize, a billion maybe? ..... to do what Herbet99 said in his hydrogen car quote (above) ...... with the money to be payable when the system is proven to work?

Putting up the billion would be a better use for government cash than Solyndra or a lot of other Obama schemes.

Okay. feel free to tell me the idea is dumb. It won't be the first time.

Jim