Obama and the Government Can Save Detroit, If History Is Any Indicator
Phillip Longman, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, is the author, with Ray Boshara, of The Next Progressive Era: A Blueprint for Broad Prosperity.
How do these examples apply to Detroit? We should not let ideology blind us to the reality that direct government control of a central industry can work to everyone's benefit, especially if government itself is part of the problem, as it was with the railroads and still is for the automakers. Once Congress starts paying General Motors' healthcare bill, for example, healthcare reform will become a lot more likely. Similarly, a government that invests heavily in electric automobiles will not want to undo its efforts by letting the cost of gas drop below that of milk. From the building of the first canals and land-grant railroads to the construction of the interstate highway system and the Internet, government has always been deeply involved in managing and even building the U.S. economy, and most of the time for the better.
Reader Comments
R U Nutz?
"prevented by government regulation from raising rates high enough to cover costs, forced to run money-losing passenger trains"
You praise the government that helped create the need for a bailout? How silly!
Levin is a true Patriot in every sense of the word, and we did not get in "this mess" by following the Constitution. Are there any thinking people out there? Hello?
Big Difference!
Am I the only one who seems to understand the difference between Billion and Trillion?
Bailout Mania
Hey, if you want to bailout GM and Chrysler great, who do I call to get my proxy vote in. Maybe in the first place the government should have left the Big 3 alone. Then they wouldn't be in this mess. Anyone want to know why the Big 3 have a huge inventory of Green cars? Nobody wants them, especially me. I am going to continue to drive my car that I like very much and have paid a pretty penny for, which is a chrysler product. My wife is also going to continue to drive the mini-van that we have paid good money for. We have five children and it doesn't make sense for us to drive a puddle jumper.
By the way, which part of the constitution allows the president of the US the right to takeover a corporation? Where does it say in the constitution that I have the right to wait in line for free health care? Like I said both actions are illegal according to the highest law of the land! I hope his policies fail!
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