by Donald J. Boudreaux, American Institute for Economic Research, August 21, 2024.
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This development is not surprising. No matter how smart and clever President Xi and his superiors are, they cannot perform miracles. If the Chinese don’t have the comparative advantage to produce EVs on a large scale such as those government officials desire, diverting resources on this scale to EV production could backfire – as it is doing now. That’s right it is possible that if Beijing transfers more resources to this industry eventually the Chinese will gain the necessary comparative advantage in the production of EVs. But as things stand now, this may be a bad bet – although it is good it’s a bet that Beijing will actually struggle to appease China’s troubled EV manufacturers with subsidies and special protections. After all, the money used by Chinese government officials is not theirs; it is money extorted from Chinese taxpayers and consumers.
by Ryan Bourne, Cato at LibertyMay 16, 2024.
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Fewer children say that paid welfare states will face growing financial problems, and many economists worry that fewer people will say fewer of the basic ideas that drive economic growth. In response, there has been a push by maternity professionals for government child bonuses, tax breaks, or subsidies for childcare or other costs to make raising a child more affordable.
The problem is that these policies often produce little results. The Nordic welfare states still face low birth rates despite many “family-friendly” policies. Childcare subsidies haven’t changed the dial here. Australia’s previous baby bonus, worth thousands of pounds, only caused a temporary increase in births and the country’s fertility rate is now back to around 1.6. The main effect of financial benefits appears to be the “re-timing” of births, where those who are already planning to have children do so sooner in order to reap the financial benefits.
DRH Comment: This is an issue I discussed in my review of Matt Yglesias’ 2020 book, America’s billionaire. Here is the relevant section of my review:
In a book that advocates massive immigration, the next natural step to take would be to argue for reducing the cost of raising children by allowing millions of immigrants, disproportionately women, to enter the United States from the poorest countries in Latin America, such as Guatemala and El Salvador, poor countries especially in Africa, such as Zimbabwe and Congo, and the poorest countries in Asia, such as India. It will not be difficult to get 50 million immigrants from those places in about five years. They will benefit and many current US families will benefit from the dramatic drop in child care costs.
But Yglesias is not going anywhere. Instead, he advocates for new government programs to subsidize childcare provision. He writes that “the United States has been embarrassingly slow compared to other peer countries in providing subsidized child care.” But the closest to explaining why US policy is shameful is to argue that because other countries are doing it, we should do it too.
I say more in that review.
by C. Jarrett Dieterle, The reasonAugust 24, 2025.
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It is hard to argue against “transparency,” “common sense,” and “informed choice.” But labeling guidelines are often more difficult for very small businesses.
The concept of nutrition and ingredient labeling is even more complicated in the alcohol realm as the TTB uses a pre-approval system for alcohol labeling, meaning that brewers must submit their proposed labels to the agency for approval. before the product ever reaches the market. No approval, no market access. This is in stark contrast to most food labels, which are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration after the product goes to market.
Not only are many breweries, distilleries, and small wineries, local businesses, but much of its appeal is the ever-changing array of products it offers. Some of the best and most popular microbreweries in America release several new beers per week or month in conjunction with seasonal releases that vary in availability depending on the time of year.
Breweries often release annual products, such as Christmas Ales, that use the same set of spices but may have slight variations and adjustments from year to year. If these guidelines are in place, a brewery may be faced with the prospect of having to get new pre-approved labels every year, a burden of time and cost that few small breweries can absorb.
Who knew that we in America, the land of the free, would be so messed up by the central planning of beer labels?
by Joe Lancaster, The reasonAugust 23, 2024.
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One of the country’s largest car manufacturers has announced this week that it is moving away from focusing on battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) in favor of models that still use petrol. The decision to prioritize technology changes makes sense, even though the organization’s regulators may not be happy.
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Unfortunately, government regulations passed this year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may be difficult to change.
In March, the EPA issued regulations that will reduce the number of new, gas-guzzling vehicles on the road over the next decade. Under “stricter emission standards” for commercial vehicles, the agency foresees that by 2032, 56 percent of all cars on the road will be electric, and only 16 percent will be hybrids.
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