That's my point, exactly - it'll likely take years for anything getting angel funding now to have much of an effect on the economy. Google isn't even in the top 50 list of US corporations, according to the Forbes 2008 list.
It bears repeating that I'm not knocking what you guys are doing - quite the contrary, I think the best thing most of us can do is just do what we do, well, and hope for the best. I just don't think that your conference will do all that much to get the US economy going again, nor should it be expected to.
Edit. Whatever, people, if you think that PG and company are going to single handedly have more of an effect than billions of dollars in taxes or tax cuts or infrastructure spending or GM failing or more banks going under, or China selling their dollar assets, or whatever, you're welcome to your beliefs, I'm done arguing the point.
I think perhaps you meant to qualify your statement by time rather than space. I.e. "not much in the short term" rather than "not much in the big picture."
Certainly - if we have to wait until some company currently getting angel funding is big enough to hire up all the fired auto workers, we are really screwed:-) I think what you guys are doing is awesome, but think that it's basically impossible to predict much about long term effects: some YC company might create a system that saves the newspaper industry, or they might create the final nail in the coffin. Who knows... you (the generic you) just have to get out there and try and experiment and do your part.
No one ever said that this would have a greater effect than all that, just that this type of thing, along with Mark Cuban's latest offer, will help small businesses and startups get off the ground in a time when getting any type of loans through traditional outlets, banks, is nearly impossible. I was meaning to be vague as to not spur any economic debate, sorry.
It bears repeating that I'm not knocking what you guys are doing - quite the contrary, I think the best thing most of us can do is just do what we do, well, and hope for the best. I just don't think that your conference will do all that much to get the US economy going again, nor should it be expected to.
Edit. Whatever, people, if you think that PG and company are going to single handedly have more of an effect than billions of dollars in taxes or tax cuts or infrastructure spending or GM failing or more banks going under, or China selling their dollar assets, or whatever, you're welcome to your beliefs, I'm done arguing the point.