Russell Roberts's Blog, page 1568

Too Big to Fail and the Dodd Bill

Mark Warner thinks Mitch McConnell is either a fool or a liar. Ezra Klein reports:

And in an interview in his office this morning, Warner was not too happy with McConnell's characterization of their work. "It appears that the Republican leader either doesn't understand or chooses not to understand the basic underlying premise of what this bill puts in place."

"Resolution," Warner continued, "will be so painful for any company. No rational management team would ever choose resolution. It means...

Protectionist Blather

Here's a letter sent today to the Wall Street Journal:

Appropriately enough on April 15, Robert Scott argues that Uncle Sam should raise taxes on Americans who buy Chinese-made goods (Letters).  He ends his protectionist case by bellowing that "It's time we put national interests before corporate interests."

Anytime government obstructs trade with foreign producers, among the chief beneficiaries are always corporate interests.  Does Mr. Scott, for example, think that Pres. Obama's tariff on...

News that IS Fit to Print!

The great science writer Matt Ridley reports some great news — and, along the way, warns us to take alarmist hysteria with several grains of salt.

Bittersweet

From the WSJ:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture indicated it will allow a small increase in U.S. sugar imports this year, a decision that is likely to do little to quell complaints from confectioners and processors about tight supplies.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that the department would make "some adjustment" to the sugar quota, which has been in place for decades. Mr. Vilsack said it could be raised by about 24%, or as much 300,000 short tons, from the 1.23 million...

Fee'd

Here's a letter sent to USA Today:

You support Sen. Robert Menendez's demand that airlines roll all fees – such as those for carry-on and checked luggage – into ticket prices ("Spirit's carry-on fees add new hassle for fliers," April 14).

If this idea has genuine merit, why apply it only to airlines?  Why isn't Uncle Sam himself practicing what Sen. Menendez is preaching?  Why doesn't Uncle Sam stop charging us Americans those pesky separate fees for mailing letters, for using his courts, for...

The free free lunch

The Democratic Party put me on their mailing list and they sent me this clip today (among others). I think it's supposed to make me feel good about expanding unemployment benefits. According to my Senator, Senator Cardin, every dollar of spending on unemployment benefits adds $1.50 to the economy. Magic. It's clear what we should be doing. We need to extend unemployment benefits to the employed. I know. That's the whole idea of stimulus…

txting while n motion

I heard a report on last-night's local t.v. news, and then again this morning on the radio, that there was a debate in the Maryland State House over whether to ban texting only while vehicles are in motion or to ban it totally by all drivers, even when their vehicles are stopped at traffic signals.

I'm not sure which positon won, but I hope it's the former.

If penalties for texting while stopped are the same as penalties for texting while in motion, drivers incur no additional cost of texting w...

Bully in the 'hood

Here's a letter that I sent to USA Today:

Transportation secretary Ray LaHood is angry that Spirit Airlines will charge passengers for carry-on luggage ("Spirit's carry-on fee comes under fire from DOT chief, N.Y. senator," April 12).  He barked "we're gonna hold the airline's feet to the fire on this.  Because we have an obligation to do it and we have the ability to do it."

Who the hell does Mr. LaHood think he is?

He and his colleagues have no "obligation" to interfere with the pricing...

Some Links

Robert Higgs, in the Winter 2010 issue of The Independent Review, provides a masterful survey of macroeconomic fallacies.

The Wall Street Journal's 'Americas' columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady puts her crystalline spotlight on yet another Latin American thug.

Cato's Center for Freedom and Prosperity just released this 5+ minute-long video, featuring a former Cato intern, on the onerous compliance costs of America's Internal Revenue code.

My former GMU student, Alex Nowrastah, challenges Uncle...

The Roosevelt Mythtique

Writing in today's Wall Street Journal, Burt and Anita Folsom challenge the notion that F.D.R.'s policies helped to cure the Great Depression.  Here's a big slice:

The president [F.D.R., during WWII's final year:] believed a New Deal revival was the answer—and on Oct. 28, 1944, about six months before his death, he spelled out his vision for a postwar America. It included government-subsidized housing, federal involvement in health care, more TVA projects, and the "right to a useful and...