Quote:
Originally Posted by Botnst
Need is what I would say, too. More recently and increasingly powerful second force, is the profit motive driving free enterprise. Still subsidiary but extremely important.
There is far, far more incentive to develop something truly unique and innovative with $100 oil than with $40 oil. The need has been recognized for 60 years -- since the Japanese attacked us over oil and the Germans invaded the USSR for oil. But there wasn't much profit motive. Now there is.
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I disagree that profit motive is a major driver of innovation. Once again, we can look at the auto industry. The American car companies. They now make some models that get 30mpg. Where were these cars 15 years ago? 15 years ago the Japanese were making them and making money. American business is weird in that they have R&D programs, but they either R&D to make current products/services more efficiently, or only implement new things after they have tapped out utterly the old way. They would rather influence the market to buy the same crap than make new and better things. It's understandable, as innovation costs money, and then production of said innovation costs more money, and American companies can't look past the next quarter.
Anyone can have whatever pastime/hobby/interest they want, and there will always be people with less pastimes than you. That doesn't mean that the costs of your pastimes, etc. is any more frivolous than someone with cheaper ones. The whole idea of hitting someone in the pocket book, or profit motive as Bot mentioned, is foolish. If someone is willing to pay a billion dollars to dump toxic waste, it doesn't mean they should/can. If you want someone to do something different, taking away all their options and/or forcing them into yours kicking and screaming is neither timely or efficient. Gas prices don't have to be high, just make cars that do the same things as now, only are more efficient. It's possible. Aklim doesn't want a station wagon, but one with a roof rack can do everything his SUV does with the possible exception of towing capacity. I know as I've loaded couches, TVs, mattresses, boxes, etc. in my TD, and hauled 4 sheets of plywood on the roof rack. I keep poiinting to Europe because they do everything with their vehicles over there that we do over here, only there it's a little bit different. More efficient.
Get Ford out of government.