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Some Non-Covid Links

Julian Simon’s son David Simon draws lessons from his own family about the bankruptcy of woke-ism.

My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague Veronique de Rugy calls out some sloppy reporting on that great geyser of cronyism, the U.S. Export-Import Bank. A slice:

Don’t get me wrong, I am sure it is easy to find companies that will say that they loved having their loans subsidized by the American taxpayers, and that they missed the perks when the Ex-Im was dormant. That’s a whole different thing than claiming that on net the U.S economy suffered. That would require us to believe that economic growth, trade, or even business decisions rest on the competition between government banks extending export subsidies to special-interest clients in higher-income nations where capital is easy to find.

Also from Vero is this dose of realism about taxation. A slice:

Don’t think I’m saying that if the Democrats get it wrong, the Republicans must get it right. They don’t. GOPers say they prefer lower taxes, but they do nothing to restrain spending. I saw evidence of this during the presidencies of Donald Trump and George W. Bush. My colleague Matt Mitchell, along with our former colleague Andrea O’Sullivan, wrote a great paper documenting what’s wrong with this approach. They explain, “Cutting taxes allows policymakers to give voters something they want, while appearing to rein in the size of government. But this is a temporary illusion unless the tax cuts are combined with necessary reductions in spending – a far more difficult but also the more important task.”

And Eric Boehm exposes “the $700 Billion gimmick at the center of Biden’s tax plan.

I’m always honored to be a guest on Amy Jacobson’s and Dan Proft’s radio program in Chicago.

Ian Vásquez writes on the newly released 2021 Economic Freedom of the World report.

Theodore Gebhard is correct: China’s export subsidies enrich Americans and other non-Chinese people at the expense of the Chinese people.

Gary Galles explains that “hating landlords misplaces the blame.

In “America on the Dole,” Peter Suderman decries the fact that “Biden’s American Families Plan would put most working-age American households on the dole.

My GMU Econ colleague Bryan Caplan wonders why there are no red large cities.