How Government Helped Boeing At Delta's Expense

This article describes how the US government provides support to Boeing so that it can sell airplanes to foreign governments or to foreign airlines. It provides an example where selling airplanes to Air India was enhanced by granting Air India a non-stop flight from the US to Mumbai to which Delta Airlines had exclusive rights. Government had to choose between Delta and Boeing. The article poses this as a problem in which government picks winners and losers. Free marketers don't like the idea of government being in that role. On the other hand, GOP politicians who claim that view, were lobbied by Delta and argued on its behalf.

The real issue in this article is not about whether government should have this role. It has that role in countless ways. The real battle is not between Delta and Boeing. It is between Boeing and Airbus for the Air India deal. This is one of the affects of globalization. The nations states support domestic firms in international competition and their customers expect them to make concessions to win contracts. Emerging market economies like India and China have learned how to play this game to their advantage. Boeing versus Airbus is only part of what happens all of the time.