Interventionism

From a patent lawyer list I’m on, I received a solicitation to sign a letter opposing

The pending reform of US patent law that has “inventors” and

In the comments of my post on the mortgage mess, “Jake” linked to this

Robert Taft, champion of a non-interventionist foreign policy and leader of the Republican resistance to post-FDR foreign policy, gave a stirring s

The Bush administration wants subprime price controls.

In conclusion, inflation wreaks havoc on the structure of capital. It does so not only through the intertemporal misallocation of resources that takes place when the interest rate no longer reflects the social rate of time preference, but inflation also wrecks the existing structure of capital by introducing unpredictability into entrepreneurs' plans that rest on predictable exchange rates.

The only question is this: by which proposed means will the government lead the market into the last stage of the theory, central planning.

Frank proposes instead a steeply progressive consumption tax that, at its upper reaches, is confiscatory. His plan exempts savings from tax altogether: the tax burden falls entirely on consumption.

If we can avoid the protectionist trap and reconcile the budget, the falling value of the dollar will eventually attract investors and stimulate exports.