who creates value?

Filed in archive Entrepreneurship on November 14, 2003

Dana Blankenhorn at Corante has an interesting point to think about:

"The growth and vitality of the American economy really comes from a handful of people.

Foremost among them, of course, are the folks who make and design semiconductors. Software and Internet experts also provide real value. Manufacturing, whether of cars or carrot sticks, is production of real value.

Everything else we do is redistributive. Bankers and brokers and insurance Agents merely facillitate transactions based on value that exists. If you're selling, or buying, or serving the public, you're spending the value that others created. All the money we tax started as value someone created. All the value of our real estate -- the land and the buildings -- depends on the amount of capital sloshing around our system.

Moore's Law has dramatically improved our ability to create by increasing productivity. This first happened in factories, but now extends to offices, which can exist anywhere the Internet goes. Even India. Unless wages rise to compensate for Moore's productivity you have a deflationary spiral."

Via emergic.org