The Government From Boeing
Anti-corporatist crusader Timothy P. Carney explains how "Obama is not 'anti-business,'….he's just anti-free market." Case in point: The president's National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports in five years by goosing the activity of U.S. Export-Import Bank. Sample:
[C]heck out the minutes from the Ex-Im board meeting at which the Stolle [Machinery] subsidy was finalized. The other subsidies given either final or preliminary approval weren't so photo-op friendly: a federal guarantee for JP Morgan to subsidize a Boeing aircraft sale to Turkey's Pegasus Airlines; another loan guarantee for Boeing to sell jets to Asiana Airlines; $20 million in financing to subsidize GE turbines going to Slovakia; a direct loan of more than $20 million to the Pakistani government to buy GE locomotives; and yet another Boeing subsidy guaranteeing jet sales to Nigeria.
If you think Boeing's showing up a lot, you're getting the point. Last year, Ex-Im dedicated 64 percent of loans and long-term guarantees to subsidize Boeing sales. Yes, this federal agency exists mostly to subsidize one corporation.
Which brings us to the President's Export Council. Its chairman is Jim McNerney, CEO of Boeing.
