Gates Gets It

by Stuart Shapiro

Bill Gates spoke last week at the Energy Innovation Summit about the need for massive investment in energy infrastructure to cope with climate change and dependence on oil.

Cheaper energy with no new greenhouse gases would allow for improvements in other parts of these people’s lives, freeing up money for fertilizer, lighting, and other significant investments. “Without advances in energy,” Gates said, “they stay stuck where they are.”

But energy innovation is hard and requires more investment. Gates called energy research “greatly underfunded,” saying we should be spending twice as much. “It’s crazy how little we are funding this energy stuff,” he added.

I know Republicans like to accuse Democrats of class warfare against the rich (while simultaneously railing against Democratic  “elites”) but I know I like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet just fine.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.