Some Non-Covid Links

by Don Boudreaux on March 11, 2021

George Will rightly decries the increased militarization of Capitol Hill. A slice:

In normal life, when there is no penalty for failure, failures proliferate. In government, failure, far from being penalized, is often rewarded. Those whose bad judgments botched the Capitol’s security on Jan. 6 now are granted seemingly unlimited deference regarding their judgments about needed security measures. Hence their infuriating project currently scarring the epicenter of American democracy: more than three miles of seven-foot-tall fencing that is topped by razor wire and patrolled by soldiers. This seals off from a phantom menace the Capitol, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress, symbols of liberty under law, and the reign of intelligence.

My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague Veronique de Rugy warns of the folly of charging that great geyser of cronyism, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, with any responsibility for pushing for the reduction of carbon emissions.

Robert Fellner wonders if Randi Weingarten is a real-life Marla Grayson. A slice:

Thankfully, Grayson’s character is fictitious. But I was reminded of a similar type of duplicity when listening to a recent interview with Randi Weingarten, who the New York Times describes as “the nation’s most powerful teachers union president.”

As much as we can know anything, we know that keeping schools closed harms kids. This is why there is universal consensus among experts, ranging from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and even UNICEF, among others, that schools should be reopened as soon as possible.

Yet, when asked the softball question of whether there is any point at which the damage from extended school closures is not reversible, Weingarten replied that, “No, I don’t believe that. I believe that kids are resilient and kids will recover.”

You get that? You could keep schools closed for the next 5 years and there wouldn’t be any lasting harm to kids, according to Weingarten. The boldness of that lie is on par with Marla Grayson’s claim that she is simply someone who cares a lot.

Vincent Geloso writes about a bet between Paul Ehrlich and the late Julian Simon that did not take place.

Scott Shackford rightly criticizes the effort now underway in Washington, D.C., to effectively destroy the gig economy.

Even by standards of their supporters, Trump’s steel tariffs have not been effective – so reports Scott Lincicome.

Juliette Sellgren talks about taxes with Adam Michel.

Samuel Gregg reviews Kenneth Dyson’s new book on conservative liberalism in Europe.

John O. McGinnis rightly dissents from the enthusiasm for judging the soundness of the judiciary according to its ethnic or other ‘identities’ make-up.

That’s what politicians do: Biden puts the future at greater risk to goose-up the present.