American Institute for Economic Research, March 29, 2021 Political Economy vs. Federal Fairy Tales by James Bovard “Build Back Better” is the motto for President Biden’s ambitious plans to remake much of the American economy and society. On Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Biden will reveal his plans for trillions of dollars of new spending for infrastructure […]
Former senator Richard Lugar died yesterday at age 87. He was from Indiana and he understood farm policy far better than most members of Congress. I briefly met him a time or two; he and I were both speakers at a farm credit conference in Nashville in the early 1990s. (My other memory of that […]
Some folks thought I was too harsh on the late George H.W. Bush in my USA Today oped and on my Twitter comments. So here’s some of the articles I wrote on Bush’s protectionist debacles in the early 1990s. [The following piece was reprinted in two economics college textbooks] Wall Street Journal Wednesday, September 6, […]
Future of Freedom Foundation Will Trump Reduce Federal Spending? by James Bovard November 21, 2017 Donald Trump’s first proposed budget took a step towards draining the swamp in Washington. His proposal was the first one since the Reagan era in which a president has sought a wholesale demolition of boondoggles. On the other hand, Trump’s […]
COUNTERPUNCH, March 29, 2017 Peanuts Prove Congress is Incorrigible by James Bovard The history of federal peanut policy illustrates why Congress could never competently manage a lemonade stand. The feds sabotage farmer productivity, screw consumers, and sow chaos around the world – all for campaign contributions. Federal spending for peanut subsidies has increased eightfold since […]
Future of Freedom Foundation The Great Goober Train Wreck of 2016 by James Bovard The history of federal peanut policy is the perfect antidote to anyone who still believes that Congress could competently manage a lemonade stand. Federal spending for peanut subsidies will have risen eightfold between last year and next year — reaching almost […]
Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2016 Living Off the Fat of Washington If Trump is going to ‘drain the swamp,’ he might start with wasteful ag subsidies. By James Bovard President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to “drain the swamp” in Washington could begin with the Agriculture Department. Federal aid to farmers is forecast by the Congressional […]
