Paul Howard of the Manhattan Institute talks with me about innovation in a fun podcast (mp3) and here is my earlier Econ Talk with Russ Roberts. I was also interviewed by Davin O’Dwyer for the Irish Times. Launching also has a new cover, shown at right. Here is one bit from the Irish Times:
The new normal is that we’re going to go back to where China and India are going to be playing huge roles. That definitely means that our relative status is going to fall. We’re not going to be, either the US or Europe, the powerhouse we once were. We’re not going to be the giant in the land of the Lilliputians. But, in an absolute sense, we can continue to do well and even better than before. I like to say that if you invent a cure for cancer, that’s great, that’s fantastic. If your neighbour invents a cure for cancer, that’s almost as great.
Guess who I think will be the ones to have to invent the cure for cancer.
I demand a printed version (for those who are stuck in the 20th century).
If your neighbor invents a cure for cancer and uses it to gain dominance over you, by fielding larger armies or simply compete for medicine sales to third parties, that’s not so great.
Or how ’bout this, your neighbor invents type-face, then waits 1000 years for you to invent the cure for cancer and then just copies it. In the mean-time they produce such innovations as how to trick quality checks into thinking melamine in baby formula is protein. Maybe they aren’t so much evil as just pathetically lame.
If the US builds a tremendous 20th century transportation system in the post Civil War years, or in the post World War years, that’s great, but if China builds a great 21st century transportation system in the 21st century, that’s almost as great?
Great podcast. But the paying teachers more for the accountability bargain is a long ways off when you have a guy in California who can tie up kids and force-feed them his semen for 30 years. Now Bill, I’m certainly not in the segment of libertarians who have long thought that all teachers tie down children and force-feed them semen. But the fact that it can happen once says something. And I feel sure not all governments would wait a year before separating the teacher from victims, but I don’t know that for a fact.
And then, if accountability ever comes, we’ll for damn sure do it wrong. Right now I’m trying to decide whether we want the Science, Montessori, Art, or Math elementary school. That’s their idea of “choice schools.” As in, if it’s named “choice” that really means the opposite. I really really really do wish every contact I have with government didn’t leave me utterly underwhelmed. Just give us good schools you twits!
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