Government spending often leads to benefits that go uncaptured by taxpayers. Government should just be doing those background kind of investments, he says. Musk himself has received $5 billion of different forms for his three companies,. SpaceX, Solar City, and Tesla.
Economist and author Mariana Mazzucato talks about her book The Value of Everything with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Mazzucato argues that economists have mismeasured value and have failed to appreciate the role of government as innovator. She argues for a more active role for government in the innovation process and for government to share in revenue proportional to its role in the creation of new technology.