[6SJ7]

In terms of technological innovation, the private sector has always out-shined the public. One of the more interesting histories is the story of the Wright brothers vs the government funded Smithsonian's Dr. Langley in the development of powered aircraft.

Langley received $70,000 in federal money. The Wright brothers used $2,000 of their own. Langley's flyer dunked in the Potomac. Who would have made a bet at the time that a couple of unknown, uncredentialed, bike mechanics from Dayton Ohio would succeed?

[You Dirty Rats]

In terms of technological innovation, the private sector has always out-shined the public.

It's not that simple. I'm an Ohioan and proud of the Wright Brothers, but it's not true that the private sector always outshines the public.

The private sector is not going to come up with enormous amounts of money to fund something without some kind of an expected return. Nobody in the private sector would have funded Apollo, the Shuttle, or the Hubble Space Telescope. The Manhatten Project is another example.

There's no way selling Hubble for $1 to anyone will result in repairs -- it's just too expensive, and for what?