There are two key mistakes in the public policy arena that we don\u2019t talk enough about. They are two apparently opposite sides of the same fallacious coin.<\/p>\n
Call the first fallacy \u201cinnovation blindness.\u201d In this case, policy makers can\u2019t see the way new technologies or ideas might affect, say, the future cost of health care, or the environment. The result is a narrow focus on today\u2019s problems rather than tomorrow\u2019s opportunities. The orientation toward the problem often exacerbates it by closing off innovations that could transcend the issue altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n The second fallacy is \u201cinnovation assumption.\u201d Here, the mistake is taking innovation for granted. Assume the new technology will come along even if we block experimentation. Assume the entrepreneur will start the new business, build the new facility, launch the new product, or hire new people even if we make it impossibly expensive or risky for her to do so. Assume the other guy\u2019s business is a utility while you are the one innovating, so he should give you his product at cost — or for free — while you need profits to reinvest and grow.<\/span><\/p>\n Reversing these two mistakes yields the more fruitful path. We should base policy on the likely scenario of future innovation and growth. But then we have to actually allow and encourage the innovation to occur.<\/span><\/p>\n All this sprung to mind as I read Andy Kessler\u2019s article, <\/span>\u201cWhy AT&T Killed Google Voice.\u201d<\/a> For one thing, Google Voice isn\u2019t dead . . . but let\u2019s start at the beginning. <\/span>Read the rest of this entry \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are two key mistakes in the public policy arena that we don\u2019t talk enough about. They are two apparently opposite sides of the same fallacious coin. Call the first fallacy \u201cinnovation blindness.\u201d In this case, policy makers can\u2019t see the way new technologies or ideas might affect, say, the future cost of health care, or the environment. The result … <\/p>\n