A fundamental principle of information theory is that you can’t guarantee outcomes… in order for an experiment to yield knowledge, it has to be able to fail. If you have guaranteed experiments, you have zero knowledge
George GilderRead
A policy of subsidizing failures will end in an economy strewn with capital-guzzling industries long past their time of profitability - old companies that cannot create jobs themselves, but can stand in the way of job creation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Subsidizing failing businesses hinders economic growth and job creation.
George Gilder's quote underscores the negative impact of government policies that support failing businesses through subsidies. Such practices can lead to an economy burdened by outdated companies that consume resources without contributing to innovation or job creation, ultimately stifling entrepreneurship and growth within more dynamic sectors.
Themes
SubsidiesEconomyJob CreationBusinessInnovation
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on government spending, one might use this quote to argue against supporting failing industries.
More from George Gilder
All quotes →Similar quotes
In a very weak economy, when you say 'cut government spending,' what you mean is you're laying off school teachers and you're de-funding various programs that put money into the economy. This means you have more unemployed people that then draw unemployment benefits and don't pay taxes.
Fareed ZakariaRead
If workers are more insecure, that's very 'healthy' for the society, because if workers are insecure, they won't ask for wages, they won't go on strike, they won't call for benefits; they'll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that's optimal for corporations' economic health.
Noam ChomskyRead
The poor don't live in functional market economies as the rest of us do, but in political economies where corruption and broken systems extend from local government to moneylenders.
Jacqueline NovogratzRead
In the 1930s, unemployed working people could anticipate that their jobs would come back.
Noam ChomskyRead
In the world of traditional economics, it shouldn't matter whether you use an opt-in or opt-out system. So long as the costs of registering as a donor or a nondonor are low, the results should be similar. But many findings of behavioral economics show that tiny disparities in such rules can make a big difference.
Richard ThalerRead
Everyone may have some advise for the RBI. Some may advise, 'Cut your lending rates and raise the deposit rate.' How will a bank function? We take a medium term view. The bank has an 80-year-old history. I don't want to destroy it for a few decisions.
Raghuram RajanRead