The Auto Bailout, Trade, and Policy Specificity

As a trade economist, there is exactly one thing that could convince me that a subsidy to the auto industry is worthwhile, and it's this: Give them a direct subsidy and tear down all of the trade restrictions on foreign-made autos. That way, we could increase the competitiveness of the MARKET, and increase the chances that the monies will be used productively, rather than squandered on short-sighted SUV promotions that would keep us in the energy use gluttony of the last 20 years.

Societal Collapse

This is a relevant idea from TED Talks that I think relates somewhat to some research by my colleague Atin Basu. Really Atin's research focuses on the speaker's 5th point, the ability to recognize and react to environmental changes, i.e. take a long sight of it's continuation. I think that the issues before that, related to cooperation vs. Anyway, it's an interesting little topic.