Given the pro-big-government leanings of journalists, I sometimes complain about media bias.
That being said, you can sometimes find displays of common sense and sound thinking. Even from places that almost always support bigger government and more intervention., such as the editorial page of the Washington Post.
Here are some examples.
- Supporting school choice
- Supporting postal privatization
- Supporting birth control deregulation
- Doubting a tax on stock buybacks
- Doubting a financial transactions tax
Now we can add another editorial to this list.
Here are some excerpts from the Post‘s recent analysis of how to avoid another shortage of infant formula.
…the infant formula shortage that struck American families in 2022 has mostly abated… Yet…the main lesson of last year’s crisis: Ill-conceived or excessive government rules and regulations were themselves among its causes. Unless and until those are fundamentally reformed, the infant formula supply chain will remain vulnerable to another devastating rupture. …The best proof that this market is over-regulated came from the measures government took to alleviate the crisis, almost all of which involved, well, deregulation. Congress suspended tariffs, allowing imports to come in from Europe and elsewhere; the Agriculture Department, which administers WIC, allowed states to offer a wider variety of formula brands and packages than their current contracts covered. …A better policy would open the United States to appropriately regulated imports, make it easier for new domestic producers to enter the market and let all qualified suppliers sell in all states, counting on competition to temper prices.
Very sound. Almost reads like the column I wrote last year.
If we can get the Post to apply the same logical reasoning to other issues, that would be a momentous development.
P.S. The Washington Post was even semi-rational in an editorial on some tax issues.
P.P.S. Many decades ago, the New York Times had some relatively sensible editorials.
