Study says Europe gaining edge on U.S.

[KCDem]

`Tolerance' at issue for creative talent

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2405323

All I can say is... go Finland! If we continue to be so exclusive and conservative on social issues, we deserve to lose talent to foreign countries.

--snip--

The findings suggest that the United States continues to be the world's leader in technology and drawing top talent in such fields as science, research, the arts and technology-based industries.

But the report also shows rising competition from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, saying those countries "have considerable technological capabilities, have invested and continue to invest in developing creative talent and also appear to have the values and attitudes that are associated with the ability to attract creative people from the outside." The study also identifies Ireland as "up-and-coming."

At issue is Florida's belief that creativity has become the engine for economic growth and that regions can prosper by figuring out how to draw, keep and nurture creative workers.

[Fenris]

1. That's sad...but I am a Nordiphile!

Go Sweden, Norway, & Denmark!

[JailForBush]

2. Check out open-source software!

Linux - the penguin that's poised to devour Microsoft - was invented in Finland. MySQL is a Swedish-Finnish collaboration. PHP was invented by a Dane born in Greenland.

And, the last I heard, China, Japan and South Korea were collaborating on a wicked new breed of Linux. Thanks so much for helping destroy the competition here at home, Bill Gates, you asshole.

[Fenris]

3. The profit motive has killed innovation

Greed will be our downfall.

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

5. by what logic?

Innovators are regularly rewarded with profitability. It's one of the purposes of capitalism to encourage innovation. Whether you like capitalism or not is one thing but stifling innovation is definitely not one of its characteristics.

[ixion]

6. true, capitalism does not stifile innovation

However, a monopoly does, and that's precisely what companies like Mircrosoft have become. And the failure of the federal courts to understand this does indeed stifle innovation.

Also, the fact that MS will either buy out or strangle an up and coming competing technology company, well that pretty much kills innovation as well.

[Mountainman]

4. My favorite accounting package, Navasion is from Denmark