Are “Rent Seekers” why I don’t have a Hoverboard and Power Laces?

After a chat with some fellow Yelpers at the recent Porterhouse event, I looked a little more into one of my pet hates – stifled innovation. The conversation started out when I brushed upon why we no longer have Supersonic air travel.

Our topic was regarding consolidation of existing technology (ie I love my iPhone but it really is just small 1986 Motorola “Brick” with a cheap digital camera Crazy Glued to the back – hah!). I feel like (especially in the US) business is quite often, but not always, controlled by baby boomers who are more interested in driving further profit from their existing products and services rather than actually innovating.

Innovation takes risk. Innovation requires being at the bleeding edge of things. That sounds like a scary prospect to many. It is therefore often easier to the bury land-mines on the perimeter of your business to keep out the fresh ideas… This is often done by legal and governmental pressure.

Uber – http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57591024-93/uber-lyft-sidecar-get-cease-and-desist-letters-from-la/

Tesla – https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130624201841-95015-strangling-innovation-tesla-versus-rent-seekers

Am I just jaded? Or does this frustrate you too?