Morning Bell: Free Enterprise’s 100-Day Death March
Conn Carroll /
Previewing the Obama administration’s upcoming “sweeping” environmental regulatory agenda, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told NPR‘s Michelle Norris yesterday: “The President has said, and I couldn’t agree more, that what this country needs is a one single national road map that tells automakers who are trying to become solvent again what kind of car it is they need to be designing and building for the American people.” Norris then asked: “Is that the role of Government though? That doesn’t sound like free enterprise.” Jackson responded: “Well it is free enterprise in a way.”
Jackson’s honesty about the Obama administration’s intentions for the auto industry puts an end to White House claims that, with respect to the federal government’s now controlling stake in General Motors, the “goal is to exert as little influence as possible” and “to exit as quickly as possible.” Make no mistake; this administration will be dictating which cars GM will be making in the future.