A look at how subsidies can result in costly distortions.

Government management proves inadequate yet again.

Federal policies unquestionably deserve some blame for skyrocketing tuition costs. Washington subsidizes student borrowing, and colleges in turn raise prices to capture federal dollars. Higher prices put pressure on Washington to increase subsidies and the cycle repeats. But there are obviously other forces at work as well. In a typical market you would expect competition to […]

I periodically try to explain that there’s a big difference between being pro-market and pro-business. Simply stated, policy makers shouldn’t try to penalize businesses with taxes,mandates, and regulations. But neither should politicians seek to subsidize businesses. That’s why I’m against bailouts, subsidies, and other distortions that provide special favors for politically connected companies. I have nothing against companies earning money, to be sure, but […]

The Export-Import Bank is noxiously corrupt example of crony capitalism. It never should have been created. But that’s something we could say about most government programs. So the real question is how to reverse the damage. If we reform a big program such as Medicare, you can’t end it overnight. You have to deal with the reality that […]