Abstract:
This hypothetical case is set in the spring of 1988, in the midst of the downturn of the Reagan administration's once-booming economy. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Roger Auchincloss is preparing for a meeting with Edgar Bowser, CEO of Jerusalem Steel. The largest steel producer in the United States and the largest non-automotive employer in the midwest, Jerusalem Steel is now poised on the brink of economic disaster. Despite an $11.5 billion modernization program launched in 1985 to make Jerusalem one of the most efficient steel producers in the world, the company's earnings appear to be collapsing. Bowser has scheduled a meeting with Auchincloss and it seems likely that his intent is to ask for help for his ailing company. Thinking about how he will respond to Bowser's request, Auchincloss is faced with a rapidly approaching presidential election, and with the prospect of tens of thousands of unemployed workers in the event of Jerusalem's failure.
