# Have US government subsidies ever made a product cost effective and efficient? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945 "2013-08-11T17:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945/21 "2013-08-12T16:03:23Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It’s so not universal that your own cite doesn’t even claim this: Did you even read what I wrote? First sentence: **TV as we know it grew out of many different inventors in many different countries.** You’re attempting to argue with me using the exact same point that I made myself. ETA …and my major point, that TV is not an American invention, stands. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945/22 "2013-08-12T16:07:14Z")
Railway, Internet, Oil industry … ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945/23 "2013-08-12T16:10:59Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? > > –_Life of Brian_ 😃 It’s actually funny how many people are ideologically turned against Government while those with a brain always seek Government support to develop or grow their business – while talking about the need for Government to stay away at the same time. For the record, I consider Government regulations or lack of regulations to be indirect subsidy. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945/24 "2013-08-12T16:36:36Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Did you even read what I wrote? First sentence: **TV as we know it grew out of many different inventors in many different countries.** > > You’re attempting to argue with me using the exact same point that I made myself. > > ETA …and my major point, that TV is not an American invention, stands. Sorry. When you wrote “universally credited” you undermined yourself. There is no “father of television” either. You can’t say so and expect no one to correct you. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945/25 "2013-08-12T17:19:17Z")
The patent office and related court systems provide a nice service. I don’t recall whether those are fully supported by patent application fees. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945/26 "2013-08-12T19:22:19Z")
Baird _was_ the father of video recording, though he never worked out a way to play those recordings back well. It wasn’t re-invented until well after WWII. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945/27 "2013-08-12T19:45:11Z")
I’d think commercial aviation has benefited from government spending in a dramatic fashion. A LOT of the US aerospace companies’ technology and expertise was developed for military aircraft contracts, and then subsequently put to use in the commercial sector. It’s a subsidy of sorts, even if it’s not a direct one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-us-government-subsidies-ever-made-a-product-cost-effective-and-efficient/665945.md?page=1)