tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/30/dan-akerson-gm/?iid=HP_LN CEO's are always going to be optimistic but this is a good sign. I think the subsidies for autos make sense to kick start long range solutions like this. Seems to be working out so much better than giving the money directly to the companies as they did with some of the solar plays. Wonder when the dam will break open for the natural gas vehicles as he suggest?
A Chevy Volt is used for your personal use. A public road, which they reallocate your fuel taxes for, is for everyone to use. Your comparison does not even make sense, even with your reasons why. Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand, you can make exceptions to any theory, of course yours makes little to no sense. The problem here is subsidies period!!!! This is a practice that started by our corrupt politicians on both sides of the isle and continues today, they should be illegal There should be no government subsidies for anything, especially not for privately or publicly held companies.
MWA, I'm inferring a lot from your comment but if you have "all captialism, all the time" belief. Please take a look around because there are a lot of everyday things that are now in the private company realm because they were first subsidized by collective/government action. You can certainly debate private/public balance in degrees but to put forth that our country would be better off if there were never ever any public support for any undertaking, no matter what .... well, we'd probably look a lot more like India than the US.
GARY JOHNSON - 2012 On the Issues It is not a coincidence that the one element of our modern economy that has been uniquely left free of government interference has created equally unique growth and transformation. An Internet free of regulation and taxation has produced innovation and enhancements to quality of life almost unparalleled in human history. If the market demands Internet services, speed and access, the market will provide them without any help from the government. The government, with its regulatory foot in the door, will inevitably end up attempting to regulate and referee content, speech, and commerce. MUCH FEDERAL INTERVENTION IS A PAYOUT TO special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should: Reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy. Restrict Federal Reserve policy to maintaining price stability, not bailing out financial firms or propping up the housing sector. Eliminate government support of Fannie and Freddie. Reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education; let states expand successful reforms such as vouchers and charter schools. Legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, rather than wasting money on an expensive and futile prohibition. Eliminate needless barriers to free trade and make it easier for would-be legal immigrants to apply for work visas.
Uninformed: I concur on most of your assertions (with caveats). First, the internet, it is true that its success is largely due to a hands-off approach but its birth was not. I believe that there is good reason to incubate good ideas and give them some support in the early stages. If the idea cannot morph/survive on its own after a period then it probably wasn't that great of an idea to begin with. The gray area is obviously how much support and for how long and for that I have...it depends. As for bailouts I wholeheartedly agree. Our financial sector is mature. It does not need intervention or support. What it does need is more teeth in the laws and regulators that do the post-mortem of debacles. They should be something akin to RICO with treble damages if malice/intent to defraud can be proved. Regulation...one guys smart regulation is anothers overreach. ...it depends. eliminate Fred/Fan...absolutely. Mortgages are one of the most mature and basic instruments out there. We have sophisticated measurements to ensure proper pricing of debt. Get out of the way and let them work. on the fence on education...the feds do seem to cause more problems than they solve in this arena. MJ...its a lost war. Legalize it already. in addition to the tax revenue we could release a substantial number of inmates and save a ton of cash that way as well. unlimited free trade is a problem for me. Capital moves so much quicker than people it can produce substantial economic upheaval as factories hop from market to market every 5 years to chase the low wages. While it may work itself out in the end, that is a long view that doesn't help when 30% of a town gets laid off when the factory hops. Communities and families have value. We undue that when we tell families to uproot and find a new job every 5 years because theirs just went somewhere else.
