Re:How Harvard Business School Has Reshaped American Capitalism
by chrispeel on Monday May 01, 2017 @12:13AM
(#14235523)
Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School prof, has promoted a tax structure that has much lower taxes on investments that last multiple years (say 5), and higher taxes on short-term investment (less than a year) as a way to incentivize long-term R&D. I like this as a mechanism to change the way MBAs think about profit and investment. I.e., as something that I'd love to see more at Harvard get behind.
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Re:How Harvard Business School Has Reshaped American Capitalism
by IIIIIIIIIIII on Monday May 01, 2017 @05:16AM
(#14236395)
I'm not sure that would help much. I think the risks and uncertainties of long-term R&D increase much faster than any tax incentive can compensate for. My favorite story is the (real) history of Silicon Valley. I once thought that was a proof for what private enterprise can accomplish. Turns out that SV is actually based on the unrestrained spending on R&D (of borrowed money, of course) by government during WWII. [0]
Private enterprise wants a level of certainty, long-term or not. Tax incentives don't reduce the uncertainty. I doubt that money is the major constraint. Look at some major corporations basically "swimming" in money, and they also should be able to borrow easily (and cheaply) at this time.