U.S. Corporations haven't been innovative in a long time, because they don't have to be. They wait for some small company to think of something good then they buy them out. They have so little competition that they hit the too big to fail level. The leadership of course get massive bonuses and their employees get nothing or worse, laid off.

The fact is that U.S. corporations don't seek to be the best, they seek a means to fleece the public. There is no investment in the future, only profit.

I work with government people all the time, and I think it's highly dependant on what the project is and what part of the government is running it.

We've worked with the Navy and, well, their "experts" for the work we do are a joke. My company designed the system they use and all the experts that work on it work for my company.

We've worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and it's completely different. The people we worked with were knowledgeable and thorough in their work. They specify exactly what work is required and will make sure it's done right.

State/local governments are also hit-or-miss. Often they don't have experts at all and it's up to us to work with them to determine what they need and how to implement it. But sometimes there's the old graybeard who knows the system in and out and can fix anything. I like dealing with those guys. They're usually full of character and you can learn useful things from them.