Monday, April 27, 2009

Industrial Policy Here We Come?   [Jonah Goldberg]

I like R&D spending and I think it's fine and good for the U.S. government to spend money promoting basic research. But does anyone think that spending 3% of GDP (where the hell is that money coming from, by the way?) is aimed solely at basic science? If this happens (which is doubtful), you're going to see corporations bending their business models to what pleases government bureaucrats.  From the AP:

President Barack Obama is promising a major investment in research and development, with the goal of spending 3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product on scientific innovation.

Obama will make the announcement in a speech Monday at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences.

The president says 3 percent of GDP would represent the largest commitment to scientific research and innovation in U.S. history.

04/27 10:08 AMShare