An saw an article in the Wall Street Journal Online about all the technology that went into the Chilean miners rescue. The rescue is unprecedented in mining disaster history. Mining is a dangerous occupation with a reputation for accidents caused by poor safety conditions and an inherent danger of working deep under the earth. Even with complete adherence to state of the art safety precautions, accidents cause by human or mechanical failure are a given.
With as much as possible being done in the mine for safety, things above the mine have advanced to a point that with a reasonable amount of time, a rescue can be successful. One of the heroes of the mine rescue is a drill. This drill called the Center Rock drill bit is made by a small company of 74 employees. The company Center Rock,Inc is Berlin, Pa. The drill rig came from Schramm Inc. in West Chester, Ra. Seeing the disaster, Center Rock's president, Brandon Fisher, called the Chileans to offer his drill. Chili accepted.
Samsung of South Korea supplied a cellphone that has it's own projector. Jeffery Gabbay, the founder of Cupron Inc. in Richmond, Va. supplied socks made of copper fibers that consumed foot bacteria and minimized odor and infection.
These entrepreneurs, both small and large, are the fuel that makes the engine of capitalism go. Innovation by companies are motivated by profit. Profits a bad word in todays society. But without that incentive there would be no Center Rock drill bit. We would be having funerals instead of celebrations.
Entrepreneurs have built our computers, cars, space vehicles, and electronics. All we have is from innovation in an environment of capitalism. Where there is a reward for hard work, fantastic products will come. We can't punish these people with excessive taxes and regulation. making a product and getting rich from it is the American Dream. But when someone accomplishes that ideal we punish them with high taxes.
If we want to compete in the world economy we better step up and build things here in this country. We have all the tools money, knowledge, and innovators. Other countries know this is the way to the future, have we forgotten.
I have to add a little postscript to this post. While researching alternative opinions on this post I found many that disagree with my supposition. Many feel that the shoddy conditions of the mine were a result of unchecked capitalism. That may be true. It's for you to decide. I have included links to differing opinions than mine.
