Now, I don't know anything about Solar Array Ventures, so I've no desire to disparage the company. I'm just saying that it should not be the government's role to take taxpayer money and utilize it for speculative investments.

I don't know anything about Solar Array Ventures either, but this might be a very good thing for government to do.

Cheap solar electricity would be a major boost to our economy, and would help mitigate the coming climate disaster. So it'd be nice if someone could build the photovoltaics.

Railroads were another technology that offerred major benefits to our economy. However, the capital costs were very high, and private investment alone wasn't sufficient. So the government offered incentives (land, particularly) and helped get the railroads started. The result was increased wealth for much of the country.

Highways have been another important boost to our economy. Again, private enterprise was insufficient. unwilling, or unable to produce a national highway system. In the 50's the government built the Interstate system, and it has helped make the country a lot richer.

Scientific research is another example of government action producing benefits that private investment can't or won't.

So sometimes it's better that government should do it, for the benefit of everyone, rather than wait for private investment. I don't know if this is such a case. Neither do you. But unless and until we look at the details of this particular instance, you're wrong to simply say "government speculative investment bad."
Michael H Schneider | 06.23.09 - 9:23 am | #

Great post Mario!

It appears that too many of our legislators are still operating under the same investment "strategies" that got us here in the first place.
Enough is ENOUGH already!

Michael
Michael Sherwood | Homepage | 06.23.09 - 2:50 pm | #