Market Loser Is a Political Winner

David Kreutzer / July 19, 2010

President Obama has picked another “winner” among green technologies meant to portend an energy revolution. This time it is a Korean-owned battery factory in Michigan, part of a $2.4 billion government investment in electric car battery technology in spite of a global glut of battery supply. However, the question is not really whether the technology is a good or bad idea but rather why the federal government is making these investment choices in the first place.

Perhaps it is because the government has a valuable role to play in spotting and investing in the companies that can deliver the technologies of the future. Looking at the recent record suggests that the government is less adept at picking winners and losers than just picking losers. (more…)