Thatcher didn't so much shut them down as turned off the life support subsidies. They were already dead, commercially. A bailout isn't great and Obama was crit

Thatcher didn't so much shut them down as turned off the life support subsidies. They were already dead, commercially. A bailout isn't great and Obama was criticized for it, but it's not the same as ongoing state subsidies and outright nationalization. Boeing and SpaceX get oney for selling the government unique services. The USA has historically not gone in for subsidies of industries like steel and coal, and that's one reason it's ahead.