The internet is something created largely by public funding.
It's easier to get funding for a gas station than to start the next Facebook or Twitter in the Mideast.
The more angels we have in Silicon Valley, the better. We are funding innovation. We are funding the next Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
For the devices we use... the funding models are completely screwed up. Angel funding isn't sufficient for hardware.
When you look at how technology companies are funded, it's not a zero-sum game. It could be 20 investors in one company, and everybody has to work together for the benefit of that company.
Silicon Valley has infinite access to capital and can lose money indefinitely.
Solyndra's failure isn't a reason for the government to give up on alternative energy, any more than the failure of Pets.com during the Internet bubble means that venture capital should steer clear of tech projects.
When I buy Windows 98, I'm not only buying something useful, I'm giving money to Bill Gates, which is a really good thing.
The amounts of money in Silicon Valley are staggering.
If every sector of business and society will be driven by software - how does that get enabled? By highly-paid computer scientists funded by risk capital in Silicon Valley? Or by lots of engineers who can build it themselves?
