Is Boeing too big to fail?

So Jeff, protectionism works then? Must be SOME middle ground here otherwise we are stuck drinking piss-poor Japanese wine (or wine beverage) while a burgundy wine is kept out of the country along with every other countries wine. It gets so ridiculous that some of my younger Japanese colleagues refuse to shop at Costco, which would give them cheaper and far more varied food than Aeon EVER would, because it is an American-based store.

Same old, same. Boeing became America's industrial-technical giant through protectionism, not free trade. Germany had by the far the most advanced jet aircraft technology in the spring of 1945, with several models in operation. The US had no jets at the time.

What did the US do? It banned defeated postwar Germany from making any aircraft at all and took the German blue prints and researchers home. And then, the US aircraft industry soared, employing lots of high- paid skilled workers, and today backed by a global duopoly with Airbus.

That is how major powers attain dominance and success. None have so through free trade. I wish our policymakers would recognize this irrefutable fact that our industries need to be protected from foreign compeititon.

Definitely. Aviation is a critical industry for the world powers both strategically and economically.

China is ramping up its efforts to become a player. Mitsubishi just annexed Bombadier, they want a slice too. There's no way America is gonna let go of the dominance in this sector.

That is how major powers attain dominance and success. None have so through free trade. I wish our policymakers would recognize this irrefutable fact that our industries need to be protected from foreign compeititon.

The idea that "this is how it has always been, so this is how it's supposed to be" is the destroyer of progress.

The idea that "this is how it has always been, so this is how it's supposed to be" is the destroyer of progress.

Yeah, missed the point. Not "always been" - but during the postwar years. God forbid the US or anyone else should follow an industrial growth model that has actually worked. Rather, we all need to have an inoffensive, politically correct, "progressive" narrative, right?

The current one, by the way, serves to turn the 1% super rich into the super-duper rich, to offshore key industries to adversarial, authoritarian states and destroy the middle class at home. Gotta love "progress."

Certain types of human projects require huge organizations to achieve. Creating modern airliners is one of those.

Yes. They are Lockheed's only competition and therefore a strategic asset.

Yes.  Military industrial complex closing ranks around a core member.