The fact that after over 30 years of consistent mismanagement and decline, there is still any discussion on whether or not we should allow the now significantly smaller “Big Three” automakers to fail is clear evidence that Washington has lost all common sense. Why, when after more than three decades of continuous restructuring, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have not been able to change their culture, high-cost basis and ill-conceived strategies, does anyone believe yet another break would change anything? Are they going to be better off next year, or the year after that, or even five years from now? Just because their situation has become even more precarious, it doesn’t mean that they will be more successful going forward… more likely the opposite.

“The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” said Albert Einstein.

The best thing that could

For The Boeing Co. (BA), the strike may be over, but the fallout continues. Just days after resolving an eight-week strike by 27,000 unionized machinist workers, the Chicago-based aerospace giant announced that the job action will force it to delay the first test flight of its problem-plagued 787 Dreamliner passenger jet until next year.

Boeing was planning to make the inaugural flight of the next-generation jetliner – already delayed four times – during the fourth quarter. But company spokesman Jim Proulx said the strike – which started Sept. 6 and forced Boeing to temporarily shutter its commercial aircraft business – forced the firm to push the test flight into next year.

Boeing is conducting a special assessment to determine just how much the strike affected its production schedule. The company will revise the Dreamliner’s schedule – including a new date for that first test flight – based