Invent a Battery, Win a Prize
John McCain, is proposing a $300 million prize to anyone who creates an automobile battery with significantly greater efficiency than those that currently exist. This would be his way of contributing to the goal of weening us off foreign oil. Well, his way of forcing taxpayers to contribute. And, of course the idea is ludicrous, regardless of where the money is coming from.
It should be abundantly clear by now, that McCain is not a believer in free market economics. If he was, he would understand that the incentive for developing the battery he desires, is already inherent in a free market. Besides that, who says that a battery will be the next big breakthrough in alternative energy? It’s that kind of government meddling that distorts the market and leads to mis-allocation of funds.
Money and attention that might be focused on more feasible solutions is often diverted by false incentives created by government subsidies, and other harebrained ideas like McCain’s. McCain, and most other politicians aren’t scientists and don’t have these answers. These technological advancements should be left to people who know what they’re doing, not people who pretend to know what they’re doing.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:59 am
[...] It offers corporate handouts in the form of “prizes,” courtesy of taxpayers (I believe McCain was a trailblazer for this type of anti-market idiocy). We support giving large financial prizes to companies and [...]