White House Summit, Auto Bailout and Oil Drilling

1. BUSINESS

Leaders of twenty nations gather at the White House to
discuss the
global financial downturn.

CEI Expert Available
to Comment: President Fred
L. Smith, Jr. and Center for Entrepreneurship Director John Berlau on what leaders should
take away from the summit:

“…now the bailouts are having their own perverse effects by giving
what is seen as a government seal of approval to banks that receive the money
and a black mark to those that don’t. The new fear is that depositors may make
a rush to safety and pull out of banks not receiving the bailout dough. So the
best concrete achievement coming out of this meeting would be for governments
to agree to a timetable to end the bailouts and denationalize their banks.”

2. CONGRESS

Lawmakers prepare to debate
a financial bailout of major American car companies.  

CEI Expert Available to Comment:
General Counsel Sam Kazman on
the prospect of an auto
industry bailout:

“Congressional attempts to favor domestic automakers will be
a waste of taxpayer money, a skewing of automaker competition, and an
invitation for even more industries to seek bailouts in the future. If Congress
wants to help the auto industry, the best way to do so is by repealing the
stringent fuel economy standards that it enacted last December. With gas prices
dropping, fuel economy mandates will become an even tighter noose around the
industry’s throat.”

3. ENVIRONMENT

The Obama Administration may
reverse policies allowing oil and gas
exploration in the U.S.
       

CEI Expert Available
to Comment: Adjunct Fellow Steven
Milloy on what this means for the future of environmental
politics:

“Since declining oil and gas prices are likely only
temporary, we remain in an energy crisis. The problem could be solved by
increasing domestic oil and gas production, but the Obama administration
apparently aims to stand four-square against this.

The time has passed for Republicans to fret about being
painted by the Greens as ‘pillagers of the Earth’ for supporting drilling in
allegedly fragile environments. Let’s get real. While such demagoguery is a
standard Green tactic to block the development of natural resources, the notion
of a ‘fragile’ environment is a canard."

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