Ricardo J Gonzalez for a Better America

One of the many things I hate about the Government is that the usual approach to creating change is by enacting new restrictions. Want more efficient cars? Simply prevent people from selling inefficient ones. The current system might be effective but I've long thought that competitions such as the ones the X PRIZE Foundation holds, that substantially reward success rather than penalize failure through force, were a much more interesting proposition. That's why I am so encouraged when I hear that John McCain is proposing this style of public policy in his campaign appearances.


McCain's proposal is to offer a $300 Million prize for the company that develops a battery that "far surpasses existing technology". It is inevitable that the implementation of the competition will arrive with customary abundance of bureaucratic red tape and the details as to what defines "far surpasses" are obviously not yet clear. But specifics aside this is still one of the few 'fresh' ideas I've seen in this year's race, and one of even fewer ideas that I like.

Left-leaning pundits like Wonkette are wasting no time on denouncing the "evils" of the idea:

And now John McCain will give the rich, global corporation that puts together its fancy car battery first a tax dollar from each and every one of you.

While I share the apprehension of it being tax-payer funded, I vehemently disagree with the implication that successes in environmentally friendly technologies are somehow lessened by the inventor's desire for profitability.

The way things stand right now, it seems unlikely that McCain will be elected President. If he were to be elected I wonder if this policy idea would be enacted or abandoned. Regardless, it is fantastic to hear proposals that seek to reward excellence rather than just raise the bar for the lowest common denominator.