A hundred years ago, innovation was a much simpler discussion than it is today. It was generally easy to build up some sort of industry based simply upon creating a new value to the consumers at hand. However, nowadays innovation is in a constant invisible battle with the numerous regulations put into place by federal organizations. So not only is it becoming increasingly difficult to apply these innovations, but it is also difficult to keep up with a population growth that can soon become unsustainable. With that being a result of the time to come, it is important to start focusing our individual energy through new ideas and not just the common dilemma of hard work. The only problem is that these new markets that are sure to bring some sort of creative destruction are being regulated and controlled more than ever today. I understand that the public's health and safety is to be ensured at all costs, but we need to start becoming more open and accepting of solutions that can fix the problems at hand on earth.
New Industries have to worry more about permission before their innovations can even get off the ground. When these consist of food and drugs, they are handled by the FDA and can take copious amounts of time to even give the business the green light. This is of course after their start off investments or how would the FDA have any empirical data to go off of. These testings can even drive the company into the ground by taking too much time and running them financially dry. This is why these regulators need to be considerate of the companies to ensure them a positive future if the product is passed. For example, In the movie there was a company who began producing artificial organs for individuals who are in need of a transplant. If it was successful to previous patients why would you need to wait to regulate such a beneficial innovation. There are hundreds of thousands of individuals who are currently on a waiting list for some sort of organ transplant. Why do these individuals need to live in fear until a doner ends up passing or a healthy individual decides to put their life at risk when there has already been a medical technological innovation. This is a direct correlation to how these innovations can positively affect society, but there is a third party of regulators who pause this innovation. These are the topics of discussion that must be held whenever needed. The title of the movie, “They Said it Can’t be Done” is countered by the process of innovation and acting on new ideas.
There are numerous examples in the movie that show large real world problems finding solutions but are held by the confines of regulation. This is mainly because of the overwhelming shock that innovations can bring to the market. An example of a large shock would be the topic of biologically growing animal meat in laboratories. You can understand why the FDA is not urgent to approve such an idea for health safety reasons, but what if that wasn’t the only reason. What if this new innovation poses a threat to the pre established big business of livestock. People heavily invested in this market would not want a cheaper and better product overtaking their current investments. This is why we need to focus more upon what benefits the most of society. The movie stated that about one-third of farm land is devoted to raising grain to feed livestock. What is the opportunity cost for all this land? It could possibly be devoted to removing the abundance of carbon dioxide in the air that is proving to be a future threat.
In conclusion, the process of regulation needs to be shortened (while remaining safe) to help encourage more innovations to be acted upon to help society at large. Federal loans should also be spent more wise to produce the best outcome for society. There is always going to be more boundaries to push farther. This is because disruptive innovation makes old innovation obsolete. Even when sometimes innovation was staring us in the face the whole time.
