[Negitivefrags]

No, this isn’t always the problem.

People are not fungible resources. You can’t simply turn a programmer from Google into a Lithium miner by paying more.

[seanmcdirmid]

The expertise China has built up is only around 20 years old, so it’s not like we couldn’t develop it in 20 years. Doing so in a free market way that isn’t undercut by Chinese suppliers, however, would be tricky (so some non free market mechanism is needed).

[chii]

> so it’s not like we couldn’t develop it in 20 years.

20 yrs is a very long time.

[seanmcdirmid]

It’s not really that long, but I guess it depends on how old you are (perception of passing time speeds up rapidly after 40).