The Sage

Why the U.S. Automakers Should Get a Bailout

To say that the Whitehall posting is puerile is to lend more credence to the article than it deserves. As noted, Ford & GM burned through $15 billion in the last quarter alone. Thus a $50B "bail-out" will simply prolong the inevitable by 3 quarters. Then what?
Unfortunately, Detroit's "squeaky wheel" has been begging for attention for many years (long before the current financial crisis)-- but no one was listening. Obviously, Detroit's business model must be radically changed before public funding is provided. To do otherwise would be utterly irresponsible.

Government Statistics: Perfecting the Art of Mass Deception

Before the moral indignation reaches an intolerable level, it may be worthwhile to note that the government may be borrowing a page or two from the private sector. My recollection is that, on occasion, the basket of companies comprising the market indices (like the Dow) is "updated" periodically to "more accurately reflect" market conditions. For some unknown reaon, this often has the effect of improving the performance of the subject index.