“I don’t know that we’ve seen anything like this since the government told the automakers what kind of tanks to make during World War II,” he said. “And that was just for the duration of the war — this could be for much, much longer.” Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala
Insightful analysis, but could have been better explained. I could see the first third-or-so of this piece being confusing to someone not familiar with Youngstown Sheet & Tube v. Sawyer (see links). This is a key case in the nationalization of industry and should have been elucidated. Context is good, though, especially with regard to the comparison to Japanese auto industry. Also takes care to lay out the major risks for Americans in the auto bailout.
“If Japan was doing this, we’d be threatening billions of dollars in retaliation,” said Jeffrey Garten, a professor at the Yale School of Management, who as under secretary of commerce in the 1990s was one of many government officials who tried in vain to get Detroit prepared for a world of international competition. “In fact, when they did something a lot more subtle, we threatened exactly that,” referring to calls for import restrictions.
