I disagree with repeal of Bayh-Dole suggestion. Without it there is no competition among government contracts, as contractors would not be able to retain rights to innovation in performance of a contract. What needs to be done is better enforcement of 18 U.S. Code CHAPTER 11—BRIBERY, GRAFT, AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Huh? That doesn't make sense. If it does i'd like to hear it...
Most liberals argue that their ideas are stemmed from John Locke, all be it they've bastardized it. Look to UK liberals for a truer form of J.L.'s ideas (closer to US conservatives.) So J.L. was 1602-1734. How would today's leftism be responsible for any major city prior, even giving them range as far back as they claim to mid 1600's (they're closer to communism, Marx 1818-1883)? Athens; Rome; London [pre-Rome, during Rome, and post-Rome]; Dehli; Tokyo. The answer you seek is commerce/trade. Crossroads of trade form population densities.
Edit: Although, neo-liberal ideas certainly seem to be an amplifier, once an infection takes hold in a population dense area. The hugging videos come to mind.
Perfect example of Illusory Correlation. Attempt is correlation between political stance and infection rate. When really population density is the driving variable for both leftism and infections. One layer down on data and you see that NY makes up more cases all by itself compared to all the Rep states in this pic. NY is also probably the most population dense of any area in the US.
Ah, the risks of employing and arming pirates.