≡ Menu

Some Links

Colin Grabow, writing in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, exposes some of the ill-consequences of the cronyist-protectionist Jones Act.  A slice:

In short, because of the Jones Act, an American fishing company’s future is in doubt, and its staff will be forced to work on more dangerous, less fuel-efficient ships that are nearly 40 years old. But the law’s effects are far from limited to one company. By driving up the price of new vessels, the Jones Act encourages the use of older ships, which, as a 2013 Government Accountability Office report noted, “burn fuel faster and less efficiently compared to newer vessels.”

This episode also debunks the claim that the Jones Act contributes to national security. The law’s proponents argue that it guarantees work for American shipyards, preserving a maritime industrial ecosystem that could be vital in a time of war or national emergency. The Anacortes shipyard builds tugboats, ferries and fishing trawlers. It is doubtful that such a shipyard could be quickly retooled in a time of war to churn out far-larger military vessels.

My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague Veronique de Rugy is rightly critical of Sen. Marco Rubio’s manner of assessing the consequences of tax cuts.

James Pethokoukis is not buying the snake oil peddled by those who insist that U.S. labor markets are saturated with monopsony power held by employers.  (See also this Wall Street Journal report.)

GMU Econ alum Anne Hobson is not impressed with Cuba’s ‘new’ rulers.

George Selgin marks the anniversary of a blunder by the Fed.

My Mercatus Center colleague Dan Griswold wonders why so many American conservatives fear, rather than embrace, immigrants to America.  A slice:

Immigrants display the traditional American virtues of risk-taking and hope about the future. They are more likely to start a business, whether a strip-mall restaurant or a high-tech start up. Citing polls, the NASEM study concludes, “Immigrants are actually more optimistic than native-born Americans about achieving the American Dream.” They display those noted American virtues of gumption and entrepreneurism.

Comments