$500 million. That’s how much the NC legislature approved to fund the nonprofit organization NCInnovation as part of a quest to transform NC into an “Innovation State.”
As one of the largest publicly-funded private ventures in state history, this huge investment of your taxpayer dollars has raised eyebrows.
In this week’s edition of Locke Notes, we’ll go over some fundamental problems with this government initiative and highlight a more effective way to spur innovation.
NCInnovation’s Central Problems
NCInnovation is a nonprofit organization that aims to increase the commercialization of university research in an effort to stimulate the state’s economy and create local jobs.
That may sound like a good idea, but the heavy use of taxpayer dollars to fund their project has sparked controversy.
Locke Vice President of Research Brian Balfour points out that NCInnovation’s plans for regional investment mirror Biden’s larger plan to target certain regions of the country for federal spending. NCInnovation is “Bidenomics Lite” for North Carolina.
This program is simply another case of corporate welfare, with the government picking winners and losers instead of leaving it to consumer choice.
As Balfour notes, “NCInnovation is just another example of a government program using taxpayer dollars to tip the scales in favor of select companies. If these tech startup companies want capital, they should solicit private investors, not leverage a government program for taxpayer funds.”
How to Really Spur Innovation
All of this boils down to a fundamental problem: The government can’t artificially create innovation. Instead, the government needs to get out of the way by reducing regulation and letting the market pick winners and losers.
How can the NC state government put this into practice? They can implement a regulatory sandbox, where regulations are temporarily lifted for new innovation to see if they work. This approach has a strong track record, while using taxpayer dollars to fund private enterprises does not.
We’ll revisit NCInnovation in the coming weeks as we delve into failures of similar government-funded enterprises and successes from removing regulation. Stay tuned for future Locke Notes!
A concerned citizen reported that a door was left unlocked at an early voting site on the morning of Saturday, February 24. She mistakenly believed that early voting was in session that day, but was struck by what she encountered.
Opponents of the Opportunity Scholarship Program claim that it robs public schools of money they need. But is that actually true? Keep reading for the facts!
We created the 2024 Civitas Partisan Index (CPI) to help you get a sense of the electoral landscape ahead of the general elections. Check it out to learn more about likely electoral outcomes for North Carolina in 2024.
