Slashdot Mirror
Bill Gates Calls On the US Government To Invest More In Research and Development (fortune.com)
An anonymous reader cites an article on Fortune: On Monday, Bill Gates attempted a commendable feat: to get politicians to focus on something other than the current election cycle and its partisan bickering. In an op-ed published by Reuters, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft called on the United States to spur technological innovation by increasing its investment in research and development. "Government funding for our world-class research institutions produces the new technologies that American entrepreneurs take to market," he wrote. But while other nations like South Korea and China have drastically upped their R and D spending, the United States' has "essentially flatlined." He said that the rest of the world's commitment to research and development is great, "but if the United States is going to maintain its leading role, it needs to up its game." His call for more government-sponsored R&D also comes as corporations pull back on their commitment to discovery and innovation. With more government investment, he said, U.S. scientists could completely eradicate polio and further decrease the number of deaths from malaria. More funding could also "develop the technologies that will power the world -- while also fighting climate change, promoting energy independence, and providing affordable energy for the 1.3 billion poor people who don't have it today."
Always easier to spend other people's money than it is to spend your own, eh Billy?
Even better, he wants to spend U.S. taxpayer dollars for the benefit of people who don't live in the U.S. Sorry, Bill, spend your own money, or STFU.
Oh wait, he *DOES* spend his own money. His foundation invests hundreds of millions of dollars in oil companies operating in Africa and causing pollution that is harming the local residents. Even more invested in the largest polluters in North America. Then there's investing in companies that violate child labor laws. In total, somewhere around $10 Billion invested in companies whose operations go against everything he says he is trying to accomplish.