Yes, the WSJ is known for its free-market ideology :)
But I think they have a point. The gov't has largely focused on fuel economy for decades now, while tens of thousands of people continued to die or suffer horrible injuries in cars. Sure, seat belts, crumple zones -- a good start. Unleaded? Not sure how that saves you in a crash.
Unleaded fuel has saved many lives and probably prevents a lot of crime. There are plenty of studies that show a correlation between lead and crime rates.
> Yes, the WSJ is known for its free-market ideology :)
Yes, in its editorials. But it's otherwise known for quality, more-or-less objective journalism, which makes this article a bit of a disappointment.
Then again, I'm reminded of that Paul Graham article about working with newspapers―pretty much any topic except politics or war, according to him, is written about because someone with an interest pitched the article to the author. Perhaps Honda has more to do with this article's bent than the WSJ editors.
> But it's otherwise known for quality, more-or-less objective journalism
Sorry but no. Ever since Murdoch took over and replaced the editors the quality has noticeably dropped with a lot more inherent bias even in the non-editorial content.
And within the editorial section the change is pretty clear. It's shifted from being centrist to at times being on the hard right.
Even with politics (and by extension, war). The opposition will be routinely pitching stories to counter whoever is in power.
A huge percentage of stories are pitched by PR companies. I once shared office space with a PR company and saw how much it happened; it's eye-opening. The story in the careers lift-out of the paper - pitched as a profile for a new CEO of their client. The article about working from home, pitched to get a mention for the new consultancy client.
I would say that crime stories might be some of the only ones unaffected. But even then, the stories about crime statistics can be pitched - the giveaway will be a quote from security screen manufacturers or an industry rep.
But I think they have a point. The gov't has largely focused on fuel economy for decades now, while tens of thousands of people continued to die or suffer horrible injuries in cars. Sure, seat belts, crumple zones -- a good start. Unleaded? Not sure how that saves you in a crash.