>Forcing the general public to fund bringing your ideas to fruition is a completely unsustainable economic model.
Governments all over the world are flat broke from this type of thinking.
Actually most of the cool stuff we have, we have it because of government funding research. Including the very internet.
While, you are correct that a lot of innovation and "cool stuff" has come from government programs and funding, I would disagree that "most" of it is because of government funded research.
Can you prove to me they wouldn't exist otherwise? People like Tim Berners-Lee didn't come up with the ideas they came up with because they were government funded. They created things because they were innovative and smart.
The fact that YC exists is proof that government programs are not a prerequisite.
>Can you prove to me they wouldn't exist otherwise? People like Tim Berners-Lee didn't come up with the ideas they came up with because they were government funded. They created things because they were innovative and smart.
That's orthogonal. And company X's engineer didn't create Y because he was working in the private sector, he created it because he was innovative and smart.
Still, Tim Berners Lee WAS government funded. As was Arpanet. As was TCP-IP. As was most early work on computers. As was lots of basic physics, chemistry etc research before the US had any scientists worthy of mention (in Germany, France, Britain etc).
Actually most of the cool stuff we have, we have it because of government funding research. Including the very internet.