"Green" funding for Ford: Why Government Shouldn't Pick Winners | DeSmogBlog

The Canadian government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is reported to be on the verge of giving $200 million from a "green initiatives fund" to Ford and General Motors - to help those failing companies continue to build really big (and increasingly unpopular) cars and trucks.

Ford, which lost $8.7 billion in the second-quarter of this year as its truck-dominated fleet crashed into oily reality, is advertising its latest Ontario production facility as "green" because it features a "more fuel-efficient V8 engine." And Stephen Harper, in a pre-election vote-buying frenzy, is using taxpayers money to prop up this stupidity.

I would hope for some support from the libertarian community in criticizing this decision. As every Milton Friedman fan can attest, governments have a wretched record of picking industrial winners.