[wacki]

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Just to point out a few things about the semiconducter. First of all it's silly IMO to believe that if we had no government research we wouldn't have the semiconducter.

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This is a crystal ball argument and an absolute eternity statement which gives it a double whammy. Not touching this.

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Second of all computer technology advances were brought about by the private sector.

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True but when computer technology was in it's infancy the vast majority of novel breakthroughs were not from private industry. Your statement does not conflict with anything I've said.

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Third of all we don't know that government resources were allocated in the most effecient manner in developing this technology.

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I've never witnessed any research firm, private or public, that allocated resources in the most efficient manner. To expect this level of perfection is to expect consultation from God himself.

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It may not have even been close to the most effecient allocation of resources. In fact it's possible that resources were allocated so poorly that the private sector would have come up with this technology far sooner. Don't know, probably not, but a possibility.

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Research in one area harms the progress of research in a completely independent entity? I'd love to see a historical example of this occurring. Either a principle investigator can prove his case to an angel investor/venture capital firm or he can't. In my experience that's pretty much the only thing that matters in a tech startup.