aT it
a proposal to consider - the american transformational innovation trust …
Innovation is an expensive business, and transformational innovation requires a whole lot more than daydreaming and dogged pursuit of a goal.
It used to be that governments like the United States of America, the Russian Federation, and its predecessor, the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics footed the bill for space travel.
The United States, for example, put 14 men on the moon and the first American in space. The Russian government has operated space missions for decades, even when the U.S. ended its successful Space Shuttle program in July 2011. Russian space firsts included putting the first human in space, Yuri Gargarin.
Space exploration is no longer just a government-funded enterprise. Commercial launch teams have been pushing the envelope of space for years now, funded by several billionaires who have discovered that entering space is a risky proposition.
For example, Elon Musk’s SpaceX nearly went bankrupt in 2008 trying to get humans into space aboard a privately funded rocket, even though Musk was a billionaire tech entrepreneur with a good idea about what he was doing. His company was founded in 2002, and just recently, this year, it successfully put two Americans in space through a public-private partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Richard Branson knows, too, the pain of space exploration failure financially. He is still trying to overcome the in-flight loss of a crew member aboard his Virgin SpaceShip Two, the VSS Enterprise, in October 2014. Branson’s company was founded in 2004. The British business mogul wanted to build commercial spaceships and launch aircraft for space travel, especially for the benefit of private individuals.
Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder and multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos, has been developing suborbital vehicles he dubs New Shepard. Founded before Musk and Branson in 2000, Blue Origin is a privately funded space company making significant inroads into personal space of the financing exploration innovation.
Even the commercial space business represented by Boeing Corporation, which produces the Starliner low-earth orbit transportation system to and from the International Space Station with NASA, is innovative.
Commercial space is a business we love in Florida. I had the privilege of helping convince the Florida Legislature to create and implement the first global spaceport authority. However, all credit is really due to the state’s Commerce Secretary at the time, Jeb Bush, and the chief of staff to the nation’s space commission, the journalist William Kristol.
The expensive nature of innovation means that it can no longer be funded solely by governments or industry. It will require even greater investment, which we propose comes from private individuals and their philanthropy—something we call public-private-philanthropic partnerships.
Thomas is advocating for the legislative creation of a concept we refer to as the American Transformational Innovation Trust, or AT IT.
This trust would utilize the stock market, philanthropic investments, and government support and clearance to collaboratively fast-track some of this nation's and even the world's greatest innovation needs.
Innovations might include the following categories, for example, but are not necessarily limited to these suggestions:
1. Space exploration and habitation
2. Artificial intelligence
3. 5G Networks
4. Solar, wind & battery energy
5. Mission Critical Data Centers & Cyber Security
6. High-speed rail & driverless transportation
7. Robotics & automation
8. Manufacturing
9. Virtual reality
10. Propulsion systems
11. Flight dynamics and design
12. Construction materials and design
13. Serverless computing
14. Wearable tech
15. Agriculture & sustained food supplies
16. Water systems
17. Sanitation and waste systems
18. Climate management
19. Entertainment
20. Consumer & crowdsourcing
We have excluded healthcare innovations from this list because the Medical Innovation Zone (MIZ) concept found that area more broadly. You can learn more about the MIZ Act by clicking the link below.
thomas invites you to read:: Medical Innovation Zones
The AT IT structure is pretty simple really. By design and for accountability.
The elements we are proposing and advocating in Washington, D.C., and state capitols, like Florida, which pioneeringly created the first successful global commercial spaceport authority, would work as follows:
Investors would be permitted to make tax-deductible investments in the AT IT on an unlimited basis.
The investment and its earnings would be tax-deferred investments until they are sold in the open market at the value of their shares by the investor.
Even at that, the investment would only be taxable at a special capital gains tax rate of ten percent (10%).
All assets and returns from AT IT would be reinvested in innovative trust projects through collateral stock purchases approved by the AT IT management team.
All AT IT funds would be held nationally and/or regionally in reputable third-party trust companies that can meet specific investment management and trust guidelines.
No funds would be custodied by the AT IT management team at any time.
Quarterly statements and annual audited statements would be required and must be distributed both publicly and to individual investors.
The AT IT management team would be responsible for maintaining and nurturing relevant relationships for the trust and provide operational oversight on trust investments made by the team.
Not more than ten percent of funds can be or will be used for administrative expenses.
The management team would consist of:
o Four (4) appointees from Congress (two from the U.S. House, and two from the U.S. Senate rotating every two years).
o Four (4) appointees from state Governors elected by the National Association of Governors (two from the GOP, and two Democrats, also rotating every two years).
o Four (4) appointees from the White House (rotating each presidential term).
o Four (4) appointees with measurable and verified Lean/Six Sigma expertise (serving for four-year terms).
o Three (3) appointees from the Management team, elected by the Management team membership (also serving for four-year terms).
As you can see, the American Transformational Innovation Trust concept could be pretty useful to the United States as we seek to fund highly creative ventures that the government or the private sector can fund alone.
If you are interested in learning more information about how your innovation initiative might participate or benefit from the AT IT Concept, please email our editor-in-chief by clicking here.