Dueling Lawsuits

Back in the good old days, when America got into a snit with another country, bombs usually ensued.
Now, the “New America” has taken the path of wimps and scam artists everywhere.
Instead of relying on good old fashioned bomb payloads, the U.S. is going…
…to court.
The U.S. and the new European Union are going toe to toe in the World Trade Organization court, with claims and counterclaims flying all over the place.
Ironically, the flying claims revolve around airplane manufacturers.
It seems that America’s big airplane maker, Boeing, is unhappy because the French had the nerve to actually design and build a plane that is bigger and better than anything we have to offer.
Once upon a time, the American spirit would have dictated that we simply pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and build a new and better mousetrap to regain superiority.
Today, we instead choose to whine and do what most weaklings do at the first sign of an imagined slight, which is to sue somebody.
The lawsuit claims that the European airplane manufacturer Airbus, which has been steadily eating Boeing’s lunch for the last decade, was able to gain a financial edge because of contributions from several European governments, leading to their production of the biggest and most fuel-efficient airplane in the world.
The response by the French was, well, typically French.
They’re suing us back.
The French claim that the U.S. has been subsidizing Boeing for decades.
To be honest, I’m not sure that the U.S. government’s involvement with Boeing could be construed as a benefit to the airplane maker.
After all, NASA is almost completely funded and run by the U.S. government, and only three of the five space shuttles operated by that partnership have managed to stay in one piece.
In other words, 40% of the flying machines built by the U.S. agency have suffered horrendous crashes, which isn’t a very reassuring flight safety record.
The truth is that the red, white, and blue emporer isn’t wearing any clothes.
Our government shouldn’t be in the airplane business.
If Boeing can’t do a better job of staying ahead of the competition on their own, (remember, the competition is French, for crying out loud!), they deserve to join their counterparts Studebaker, DeLorean, and American Motors on the bankrupt corporation trash heap.
If our airplane companies aren’t good enough, then maybe we no longer deserve the title as the best country in the world.
And our world image isn’t improved by whining to an international court.