[anaganisk]

As a genuine question, why are govts so protective of homegrown companies? Like unless they have a stake in them or have actually invested time and resources to build them. I'm no anti-govt guy. But if I want to sell my company I built without any govt benefits(TAX breaks go to all companies?) Then why am I not allowed to sell it to anyone I wish to. I know that companies run to govts for bailouts and other related reasons, but consider an ideal economy for +/- 20 years. I want to know the answer.

[slongfield]

Governments do a lot of things that are effectively investing time and resources into their homegrown companies--things like education of the populace, building and maintaining physical infrastructure, and management of the legal system, to name just a few essentials.

There's basically no way to operate a company without benefiting from some government.

[galaxytachyon]

It is their pride, their nation's representative to the global audience. When people speak of Nintendo, they implicitly acknowledge Japan as a global player in the entertainment industry. It is a source of patriotism and advertisement.

In a way, everyone know of the US because everyone needs Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc. When you talk about Huawei, you acknowledge China as a powerhouse in phone and tech. When you mention TSMC, you have to remember about Taiwan. etc.

[turquoisevar]

There are a bunch of general reasons:

- job opportunities for domestic employees

- knowledge concentration that might otherwise disappear (i.e. brain drain) and lessen the quality of domestic education

- economic effects, more so if you subscribe to trickle down economics and take into account potential loss of jobs, which means loss of pay and loss of income tax and loss of spending elsewhere etc.

- prestige that can be useful for diplomatic purposes

On top of that there could also be cultural or country specific reasons.

In collectivist cultures the prestige can translate into national pride or the company and its brands can be part of the national identity.

Often in those countries the legacy of a company can also be important. Companies that are decades, centuries or even thousands of years old are held in high regard.

This can go so far that taking over your parent’s hundreds year old family business making matcha can be more prestigious than being, say, a doctor or lawyer.

The cultural driven values are hard to explain if you’re not a part of it, but that doesn’t make them less valid for those people.

It’s how most Americans value freedom of speech above all else, taking the bad (hate speech) with the good despite non-Americans not necessarily understanding it. Or the reverse, how most Europeans value banning hate speech, taking the bad (risking further restrictions) with the good, despite most Americans not understanding it b

Both have a cultural historical context, but in isolation without it it’s something that an outsider might not understand.

[jabroni_salad]

The Japanese people love 'made in Japan' in a way that few others do. Furthermore, you wrote a lot of 'I' statements but eastern countries subscribe to collectivists values and the case could be made of Mario as a civic institution that belongs to the whole, not to be sold away to some foreigner. Depending on where you go with the traditional spiritualism, Mario might even have a soul and not merely be a property to be traded at all.

This does not fit neatly onto a spreadsheet or make for a good HN-type answer, but cultural values, religious values, family values, overall different social contracts, etc are perfectly valid levers that will constantly bite you if you are only interested in your personal abilities or things that can be quantified on a spreadsheet, esp when working with people of other countries.

[parl_match]

Because governments often look at the bigger picture, as much as we like to pretend they don't.

[tpmx]

Clarification: This is what competent governments do. Many aren't.

[phillipcarter]

The argument is that it's impossible to build your company without government benefits. First (and foremost), they hold a monopoly on violence that they use to protect you. In many countries, they guarantee a degree of healthcare for your employees. And so on.