history repeats

PIMCO Continues Its Campaign for the 'New Normal'

On Sep 01 05:51 PM CautiousInvestor wrote:


> In recent past we had science to help us out........Bell Labs, RCA,
> Xerox PARC, DARPA, and NASA......and from this we gave birth to a
> suite of industries including the PC, Internet, Internet infrastructure
> and cellular industries, all born in the 1980's and 1990's.
>
> Some of these institutions, though are gone and the remaining ones
> have gutted. Without new industry, I'm pretty much resigned to us
> taking the path of least resistance by continuing uncontrolled fiscal
> spending, implementing politically acceptable tax increases and borrowing
> until the costs and consequences are so high that the process implodes.
>
>
> At that point we may be reduced to going to the IMF and imploring
> them for funding, only to be told we have to right our fiscal house.

Bell Labs, DARPA and NASA have been huge factors in our prosperity. Since Bell was supported by the AT&T monopoly and the other 2 are gvt agencies, their scientists were able to innovate without beancounters looking over their shoulder.

We still have an amazing partnership of gvt-supported basic research with the corporate sector in the biotech area. typically university scientists supported by NIH, NCI, NSF etc develop new technology and license it to biotech startups, which then make deals with larger companies.

i expect a declining standard of living in the USA during the "new normal", but one thing working in our favor will be biotech, unless some ideological fanatic gets in power and decides that gvt shouldn't support basic research.

i always listen to bill gross, even if he does have his own interests.