David Brooks sounding like the most naive big-government apologist: “The fact is that unlike the Congressional pork barrel machine, the federal procurement system is a highly structured process, which is largely insulated from crass political pressures.... some parts of our government really do make their decisions on the merits.” Clearer
Drudge links to Government Outgrows Cap Set by President (Washington Post): “Confounding President Bush’s pledges to rein in government growth, federal discretionary spending expanded by 12.5 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, capping a two-year bulge that saw the government grow by more than 27 percent, according to preliminary
Daniel Drezner at Slate caused a splash by supposedly debunking the study by the Center for Public Integrity ( Windfalls of War ) that claims to show Bush administration favoritism in Iraq contracts for campaign donors. Robert Murphy has now debunked the debunker .
Robert B. Zoellick, US trade rep., is quoted in the Washington Times : “Frankly, the safeguards gave the industry an opportunity to do what we hoped it would do.” Meanwhile, Zoellick is the leading advocate of “ trade liberalization “ with the rest of world, which amounts to demanding that other countries open their border to US imports and
Instead of burning a billion dinar notes, the US government might have just auctioned them on Ebay, where they are currently selling for $1 a piece. Of course the new supplies would have driven down the price, perhaps dramatically, but wouldn’t that be better than burning? Of course we are talking about an entity that finds value in bombing and
Samizdata.net blogs a very entertaining review of Hoppe’s Democracy: The God that Failed , written by Andy Duncan. It begins: “Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy fans will remember the ultimate cocktail drink; the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Imbibing this infectious blend was like being hit in the head by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large
Alan B. Krueger of the New York Times just can’t understand why it is that poor and middle-income voters keep supporting tax cuts that mostly benefit the rich. By way of explanation, he cites research by Larry Bartels of Princeton that says that tax cuts are broadly supported because these voters “thought they, too, would benefit, if only by a
Robert Blumen links to this piece by Michael Pollan from the New York Times . It is a remarkable article in many ways. It praises the New Deal for raising the price of ag products and cutting back dramatically on supply—in an economic depression. He then blasts current farm policy for subsidizing too much production. His core complaint: Too much
300 Alleged Illegal Workers Arrested at 60 Wal-Marts (USA Today): Federal officials arrested what they said were more than 300 illegal workers at 60 Wal-Mart stores across the country early Thursday morning and searched the office of one of the retail chain’s corporate executives. Comment : The labor unions can’t entirely unhappy with this, but
Interesting report from the American Magazine Conference. Because of competition from web and dramatic changes in distribution, the industry is in big trouble.
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.
