I wouldn't limit it to the government - I think America owes them an apology. It would serve us right if they picked up their marbles and went home. Better still, why don't we fix the business environment for everybody?
I'm really glad I'm not the only person who noticed this. Although I want to add that it's really not so much of an American government thing in my view, as the fact that Toyota got caught in the quagmire of the American legal/media/regulatory axis. Between omnipresent lawsuits and now these ridiculous patent shakedowns, who would want to start their own technical business in America? Frankly, I don't think Americans have much right to throw stones at corruption in other business climates. We pay our bribes and extortion payments to do business the legal way - with lawyers!
This reminds me of the craze when parents bought those little 3-wheeler ATVs for their kids as status gifts, and when the broken necks started coming in, they sued the Japanese makers because they were "unsafe". No, they were GREAT. I had one as an adult. But you put a kid on a motorcycle, and - pardon me - what the hell do you expect? It's like a kid on a horse. If you can't live in the Wild West and take your lumps like men and women, fine, but don't go blaming the guy who sold you the horse.
Sorry - sore point here, too. I agree - this is a moment for reflection, not just shrugging it off.
