Posted on 01/18/2002 5:55:15 PM PST by Mighty Pen
Putting aside the predations of the IRS, I wonder how much Edison would have accomplished if he'd had OSHA and the EPA to deal with. And you can bet Bonior, Dingell, and Waxman would have been all over him.
For a decade I've thought about that. What tremendously beneficial technologies, products and services do we not have because of parasitical elites feeding of the backs of seed-entrepreneurs and researchers. If the church had it's way seven hundred years ago we'd still be living in the Dark Ages. In a sense we are still living in the Dark Ages.
Technologies we don't have because the government put such burdens on the inventors that they couldn't afford to bring them to market. For example, in the 1960s research scientists at Dupont were working on a very promising cure for cancer, but it was squashed by the FDA. The list of government doing the opposite, abusing rather than protecting the greatest benefactors of society, is thousands of abuses.
Just tonight on 20/20 John Stossel did a piece on government harming people and society by squashing technology research.
There has to be something sinister about a fellow getting rich through his own hard work and ingenuity, especially if technological advancement is involved.
Obviously that is sarcasm. The people have a most profound reason for welcoming the Ultimate Battle.
Value Destroyers versus Value Producers
If civilization had to chose between business/science and government/bureaucracy, eliminating the other, which is the better choice?
The first thing civilization must have is business/science. It's what the family needs so that its members can live creative, productive, happy lives. Business/science can survive, even thrive without government/bureaucracy.
Government/bureaucracy cannot survive without business/science. In general, business/science and family is the host and government/bureaucracy is a parasite.
Aside from that, keep valid government services that protect individual rights and property. Military defense, FBI, CIA, police and courts. With the rest of government striped away those few valid services would be several fold more efficient and effective than they are today.
Underwriters Laboratory is a private sector business that has to compete in a capitalist market. Underwriters laboratory is a good example of success where government fails.
Any government agency that is a value to the people and society could better serve the people by being in the private sector where competition demands maximum performance.
Wake up America! We are the host. They are the parasites. We don't need them. They need us.
Most of his famed "1 percent inspiration/99 percent perspiration" was actually the sweat off the brow of the dozens of nameless lackeys he hired to "research" his ideas — By no measure should he be held up as a poster boy for hard work and perseverance.
So workers are just a bunch of lackeys in your eyes. Edison creating the incandescent light bulb is one thing. Creating the generators, coated wire companies and General Electric and then selling to the city of New York and its residents to cast aside their efficient gas lamps in favor of wires hanging down their walls was quite another story of Edison.
It's so easy to bash another man and his hard work, yet the basher clams up when asked what he or she has done that has even comes close to producing anywhere near as much value for individuals and society.
Edison had a brilliant mind, but I think may not have been very careful about some of his business partners.
He did make his share of mistakes, and I don't think he'd want us to ignore them. He seemed to consider his failures just as valuable as his successes because he learned something from them all. One of his biggest mistakes, IMHO, was failing to listen to Tesla, and persisting in the idea of trying to use DC over long distances.
What the hell does that have to do with anything? I guess I can't say anything about Clinton because I didn't go to Harvard or get elected to office.
He seemed to consider his failures just as valuable as his successes because he learned something from them all.
I agree. His mistake do not in rise over his successes. The way some people would chose to be disproportionate in addressing another person's track record is wrong. Whether it's Edison being put down more than praised or Lincoln being praised more than put down, it is an error. If the person fails to correct his or her error and persists, it then becomes dishonest. Every person makes mistakes. Honesty demands the person correct them, learn in the process and move on.
He seemed to consider his failures just as valuable as his successes because he learned something from them all.
I agree. His mistake do not in rise over his successes. The way some people would chose to be disproportionate in addressing another person's track record is wrong. Whether it's Edison being put down more than praised or Lincoln being praised more than put down, it is an error. If the person fails to correct his or her error and persists it then becomes dishonest. Every person makes mistakes. Honesty demands the person correct them, learn in the process and move on.
Thank you for such a fine article. I hope you'll ping me when you post another. ;o)
homeschool bump!
Very well said, aruanan.
I've often thought along the same lines. In some ways, we're very much better off politically than our pioneer ancestors were; slavery is ended, women have equal rights with men, and so on. But much that was precious has also been lost. There are reasons why our economic growth has slowed, though technological innovation certainly has not. The financial and regulatory costs of "soft socialism" have become a great millstone around our necks in this century, and that awful millstone keeps growing faster than we do.
Thank a Democrat.
The financial and regulatory costs of "soft socialism" have become a great millstone around our necks in this century, and that awful millstone keeps growing faster than we do.
Government became the leviathan it is by a two-step forward, one-step backward scheme. For every two steps forward in man's advancement of technology the government has taken it one step backwards via specious laws and regulations.
Today, patriots are fortunate if they get one unconstitutional law before the Supreme Court to be overturned for every twenty unconstitutional laws passed by congress.
The host-parasite relationship and value producers versus value destroyers is the ultimate battle to be fought. Value producers have a 100 to 1 advantage because value producers are reality bound whereas the value destroying parasitical elite tactics are smoke-and-mirror parlor tricks--illusions. So often on FR their irrational, dishonest and even criminal tactics have been exposed.
;o)
Oh yes...especially when they sport new pocket protectors!
Swooon!
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