Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle
Products for Sale — By Shopping Blogs on February 27, 2010 1:05 am
- Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Dan Senor & Saul Singer
Product Description
START-UP NATION addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel– a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources– produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?
With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country’s adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality– all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the “Israel effect”, there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting. As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there’s never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.
Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle
Popularity: 1%
Tags: dan senor, economic miracle, saul singer
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5 Comments
Israel is sand with lots of USA tax money. A stggering amount of money taken from the people of the USA and given for almost nothing in etrurn. Now we are supposed to be fed that israel is a tek startup machine? bah!! With whoose cash? bahh!! Much like japan they are spoon fed. Then USA governmetn punishes domestic comanies with uge union labor cost and legal costs and wonder why results are not consumer friendly. So basic and stupid.
Rating: 1 / 5
I have been impressed with the intelligence and creativity of Jewish people and their culture almost as long as I can remember – their contributions in science and the arts have been enormous and greatly out of proportion to their population. As a student of academic achievement, I’ve also always been impressed at how well their youngsters perform in school – a model for most others. However, I have also seen how well the Jewish people support each other, and thus immediately am prone to not take Senor and Singer’s data on Israeli VC capital intensity (eg. $2.5X/capita vs. the U.S.) at face value, especially given Israel’s unconscionably selective (vs. Palestinians re citizenship) genetic population and immigration.
Despite this inherent respect for Jewish culture and genetic stock, I am extremely offended by the unstated premises of “Start-Up Nation” – that stealing Palestinian land and decades of abusing and murdering its citizens is to be somehow overlooked and excused. Then there’s the $103 billion in foreign aid given Israel by the U.S., plus aid given Egypt, Jordan, and other nations conditioned on their attitude towards Israel and Jewish migration, along with U.S. loan guarantees, and legal and illegal technology transfers to Israel. Then there was the damage to the U.S. economy via the 1970s Arab Oil Embargo (retaliation against U.S. support for Israel), and the at least partial motivation of bin Laden et al to attack the U.S. because of our strong support for Israel. Some estimate the total cost of supporting Israel at $3 trillion (Thomas Stauffer). Given 9/11, the second Gulf War, the on-going war in Afghanistan, and the enhanced Homeland Security effort – I suspect the long-run cost is much greater.
Rating: 1 / 5
Israel has been the BIGGEST welfare state in the history of humanity!
Using the year 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $3 trillion in 2002 dollars (PRESENT VALUE SCALE). If divided by today’s population, that is more than $11,400 per American citizen that has sent his money to Israel in taxes. This is an amount almost four times greater than the cost of the Vietnam war, also in 2002 dollars.
Israel has never been self-supporting. It has always required massive subsidies from the outside – above all from the United States. In addition, Germany and other European states and companies have paid out many billions in “restitution,” and wealthy Jewish communities, especially in the US, have provided tax-deductable substantial financial assistance-”a net drain” on the USA economy.
–US Jewish charities and organizations have remitted grants or bought Israel bonds worth $60 billion. Though private in origin, the money is “a net drain” on the United States economy.
–US help, financial and technical, has enabled Israel to become a major weapons supplier. Weapons make up almost half of Israel’s manufactured exports. US defense contractors often resent the buy-Israel requirements and the extra competition subsidized by US taxpayers.
– US policy and trade sanctions reduce US exports to the Middle East about $5 billion a year, costing 70,000 or so American jobs. Not requiring Israel to use its US aid to buy American goods, as is usual in foreign aid, costs another 125,000 jobs.
Israel was founded on terrorism, massacres, ethnic cleansing and the dispossession of its native Palestinian population. Even now it violates international law, inflicts a harsh collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza, and continues to deny Palestinians their human and national rights. In accord with its Jewish supremacist ideology, Israel’s discrimination against non-Jews is systematic and institutional. It is the only country in the region that occupies territory of its neighbors, that refuses to define its borders, and which possesses a large and illegal arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Even as a Jewish sanctuary, Israel cannot be regarded as a success. Jews are less safe and secure in Israel than almost anywhere else in the world. The great majority of Jews in the world have preferred not to live in “their” country.
Around the world, including the United States, loathing of Israel is widespread and steadily mounting. In Asia and Europe, political and business leaders increasingly regard Israel and its policies as harmful to global order and stability.
Regional demographic trends are also important. In Israel and its occupied territories, the Arab population is growing at a faster rate than the Jewish population, and within 20 years non-Jews will almost certainly be the majority.
Very few persons in 1985 foresaw the collapse six years later of the mighty and seemingly solid Soviet Union. But its end was predictable because it was an essentially artificial entity based on an inhumane and impractical ideology. Although Israel is a formidable military power, it is an aberrant, crisis-prone state, artificially kept alive with outside support, and based on an unworkable ideology.
Given its artificial character and built-in problems, as well as global political-economic and regional demographic trends, Israel’s future in the next 60 years is not bright.
I still give it 5 stars because the writing style is good. But read it as a work of fiction.
Rating: 5 / 5
Why don’t they talk about the $90 billion a year foreign aid they receive from the US? This is the height of patting-on-the-back journalism – I don’t see how we can use the word “scholarship” for this.
Rating: 2 / 5
How great is the one true God. This book demonstrates His awesome-ness.
It shows the world that Israel is the example of His willingness to bless.
It also points to how amazing it is that even though they are so despised, yet so small, and still exist.
It is an example that hatred from so many in the world is no match for God’s love for them.
This book exemplifies why so many are jealous.
Great book to open your eyes.
Rating: 5 / 5
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