The View From Silicon Valley

The heads-down, can-do entrepreneurs, and libertarian-minded financiers who populate the tech industry aren’t typically the sorts to long for a government handout. But in the wake of the Treasury Department’s $700-billion-plus rescue plan, Peter Thiel speaks for many when he asks a simple question: “What happened to the dot-com bailout?” Thiel’s not serious–at least not entirely. As founder of hedge fund Clarium Capital and VC firm Founders Fund–with early investments in Facebook, Slide, and LinkedIn, among others–he doesn’t need anyone’s charity. But as far as bailouts go, his point is that rescuing the Valley would have at least sent a positive message.

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