I read several financial sites and feeds throughout the day and I have an entire section devoted to various stock blogs in my Bloglines feed reader account. A post on Andrew Tobias’s website today really caught my attention where he was talking about his $100,000 “ideaâ€? contest.
In response to the $100,000 “ideaâ€? contest, Alan Q writes: “Here’s mine and it’s a damn fine idea. Building on the success of the X Prize in reusable spacecraft: Expand government funded X Prizes in areas where innovation is vital to the nation’s economic future and national security. For example:
- $40 billion in cash and 20-year federal tax forgiveness (both can be adjusted) to the first automobile company that puts a million hydrogen-based cars in the hands of consumers. The company must demonstrate that it is covering the cost of production in the price it charges.
- $10 billion in cash and 20-year federal tax forgiveness to the first developer that builds and fills (at least) a 500-home development that is completely powered through renewable energy (solar, wind, etc). Again, it must be shown that the price of the homes truly reflects costs.
“These are just a couple of ideas where these kinds of prizes would spur innovation, yet the cost to the government would be, relatively speaking, pocket change. I can imagine a blue-ribbon panel that identifies which of these contests would be the most useful. (Remember, these are just examples.)� [ more ]
Well I thought that was sure genius and wanted to bring it to your attention. Think of the impact of taking this type of concept to the next level. An X-Prize for Alternative Energy! Ok Carmack, are you up to the task?
