The Bailout in 20 Years

How does Tom Friedman feel about the auto bailout? "[It] will be remembered as the equivalent of pouring billions of dollars of taxpayer money into the mail-order-catalogue business on the eve of the birth of eBay. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into the CD music business on the eve of the birth of the iPod and iTunes. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into a book-store chain on the eve of the birth of Amazon.com and the Kindle. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into improving typewriters on the eve of the birth of the PC and the Internet." Friedman looks at The Better Place electric car company which will sell miles to electric cars, "the way you now buy an Apple cellphone and the minutes from AT&T." The system will be up and running in Denmark and Israel by 2011.