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Build ’Em and They’ll Come

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Published: October 12, 2010

Kishore Mahbubani, the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, is over for tea and I am telling him about what I consider to be the most exciting, moon-shot-quality, high-aspiration initiative proposed by President Obama that no one has heard of. It’s a plan to set up eight innovation hubs to solve the eight biggest energy problems in the world. But I explain that the program has not been fully funded yet because Congress, concerned about every dime we spend these days, is reluctant to appropriate the full $25 million for each center, let alone for all eight at once, so only three are moving ahead. But Kishore interrupts me midsentence.

“You mean billion,” he asks? “No,” I say. “We’re talking about $25 million.” “Billion,” he repeats. “No. Million,” I insist.

The Singaporean is aghast. He simply can’t believe that at a time when his little city-state has invested more than a billion dollars to make Singapore a biomedical science hub and attract the world’s best talent, America is debating about spending mere millions on game-changing energy research.

Welcome to Tea Party America. Think small and carry a big ego.

Continues @ NYTimes.com

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It is really unfortunate that the MUCH NEEDED INVESTMENTS in our future are not taking place... regardless of the obstacles.

I do not want to give a shout out to cap & trade..- the capping and trading aspect of that energy policy -- because its underpinnings and drivers are highly suspect. The rest of what is in there may need to be forked out and made into a different policy not under the rubric of crappy trade.

I hope that America invests in developing new competencies for the future including in energy and biotechnology... and yes, it will take billions in investment (Tea Party notwithstanding).