David Boaz
The Feds’ Sorry Record on COVID-19
They say journalism is the first rough draft of history.
Taxpayers Eat Another Solar Energy Flop
Looks like another federally backed solar energy plant has gone bust.
Green Energy Corporate Welfare
We should drop all energy subsidies, restrictions, mandates, and trade barriers and let the free market deliver the right mix of energy at the lowest cost.
Cutting Subsidies
Ever since President Trump and budget director Mick Mulvaney released a proposed federal budget that includes cuts in some programs, the Washington Post has been full of articles and letters about current and former officials and program beneficiaries who don’t want their budgets cut.
Faith in Government, Unshakable
Belatedly, I’ve come across the review by Jonathan Martin of Politico of the book Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t by Robert Kaiser, a 50-year reporter and editor at the Washington Post. What struck me was that both of these very knowledgeable Washington journalists seem very clear-eyed about the deficiencies of the legislative process, and yet their understanding doesn’t cause them to question the idea of having government manage every facet of our lives.
The Federal Government’s “Rural” Industrial Complex
David Fahrenthold has another excellent article on waste in government in Sunday’s Washington Post. This time he finds a truly comic example of waste, duplication, and confusion:
Big Sugar Tries to Protect Its Sweet Deal from “Big Candy”
We’ve written about the outrageous sugar import quotas here many times. And Chris Edwards wrote in March about the American Sugar Alliance’s ad in the Washington Post titled “Big Candy’s Greed.” But we couldn’t link to the ad because for some reason the American Sugar Alliance has not chosen to put a version of the ad on its website. But the Alliance ran its expensive quarter-page ad in the Post last week, so we’re now able to provide the public service of making it available online.
Cut Spending. Start Here.
If you want to cut federal spending, which has doubled under Presidents Bush and Obama, you need to eliminate some programs and agencies. At the Orange County Register – and thus on the World Wide Web – I offer some suggestions. Here are a few:
How Washington Grows Rich
I see that I’m quoted in Annie Lowrey’s New York Times Magazine story, “Washington’s Economic Boom, Financed by You”: