Local Politics

What’s Wrong With Government

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ October 3, 2011 / Leave a comment

The Public insists, and arguably has a right to insist, that it knows where its money’s going. have a very high expectation of results. That is not the way innovation works. Innovation, the essence of innovation, is you don’t know what you’re going to build, what it’s going to...
NYC and Startups Again – What the Burgh Can Learn

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ August 4, 2011 / Leave a comment

Pittsburgh’s (and Pennsylvania’s) leadership have taken a keen interest in getting the entrepreneurial part of the local tech sector rolling. They deserve a lot of credit for some of the new companies that have sprung up around the city. We’re not alone in this though, many other cities have become...
USAirways Demonstrates the Futility of Subsidizing Big Biz

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ January 13, 2011 / Leave a comment

If I’ve said it once on this blog, I’ve said it a hundred times. It is dangerous to put public money in to the private system. However, if you’re a government that insists on doing it, please use seed funding concepts like Innovation Works or Alphalab. The worst thing you...
Public Mismanagement

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ January 4, 2011 / 1 Comment

Why do I believe in getting the government out of the parking garage business? Because governments are chronically unable to do the right thing, something markets are pretty adept at. Today’s exhibit #1, is the quote below from Brian O’Neill’s column on council’s last second pension “fix” (highly recommended reading). ...
cityLAB’s 6% Project is an Interesting Way to Provide Stimulus

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ December 21, 2010 / 1 Comment

Local Pittsburgh “Do Tank” (as opposed to “Think Tank”) cityLAB has undertaken a fairly radical, and extremely interesting project around the Penn Avenue Arts Corridor (East End). Citing a study that I couldn’t find on the internet, cityLAB believes that if they can get that region of the Burgh to...
Can Public and/or Stupid Stimulus Money Stimee Smart Investments?

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ December 11, 2010 / Leave a comment

I had an interesting discussion with one of my colleagues the other day. It started over Twitter and then continued in the office. I had posted a link to a Fred Wilson blog post that suggested that VCs may currently be chasing there tales in the same way that bankers...
The Obsolescence of the Non-Compete

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ August 26, 2010 / Leave a comment

In a previous post, I went on a bit of a rant about the reduction of the unit of work that people are expected to provide their employers. I included the chart above and discussed how there’s been a steady (and increasingly rapid) movement from the 1920s-1970s mentality of agreeing...
Wasting Time on The Marcellus Shale Debate

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ August 19, 2010 / Leave a comment

I am extremely frustrated by the debate over Marcellus Shale drilling that is going on right now throughout city council and the mayor’s office is ridiculous election year pandering. Here are the reasons why: The biggest reason this whole debate bugs me is that drilling and fracing are not likely...
More Public Money in the PGH Tech Scene.

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ August 11, 2010 / Leave a comment

I don’t have time for a long posting this morning, but I wanted to pass on a bit of news that I noticed. It seems Pittsburgh (or in this case PA’s) other public source of funding for Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs has announced its awards. While Pittsburgh’s AlphaLab is the most well...
On Pittsburgh and Parking

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ July 7, 2010 / Leave a comment

Bram has a fantastic post over on the comet on the apparent thoroughness with which Luke is approaching leasing the parking garages. It’s good to see, its a decision that Pittsburgh will be living with for the rest of its life. I’m not going to spend a bunch of time...

1 2 3 »

What’s Wrong With Government

NYC and Startups Again – What the Burgh Can Learn

USAirways Demonstrates the Futility of Subsidizing Big Biz

Public Mismanagement

cityLAB’s 6% Project is an Interesting Way to Provide Stimulus

Can Public and/or Stupid Stimulus Money Stimee Smart Investments?

The Obsolescence of the Non-Compete

Wasting Time on The Marcellus Shale Debate

More Public Money in the PGH Tech Scene.

On Pittsburgh and Parking

Popular Posts

Is Apple’s Business Plan Self Destructive?

The New “Skilled” Labor

The Leader of the Pack is Now Android

Search Through Old Posts:

Find What Interests You:

Historical Posts:

Stay Tuned to the Blog: