Survival of the Fattest – Review & Outlook, The Wall Street Journal
“The best refutation of the theory of the survival of the fittest is probably the corn ethanol lobby, whose annual $6 billion in federal subsidies have managed to outlive both its record of failure and all evidence and argument…CBO reveals that it costs taxpayers $1.78 in ethanol “incentives” to reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by one gallon…Given these realities, the only mystery is how an industry that produces a fuel that no one would willingly buy has managed to be subsidized over four decades at costs that are higher than anyone ever imagined”
Unnecessary Evils – America’s Housing Market, The Economist
“America’s thumping financial-reform bill, which was signed into law by Barack Obama on July 21st, found room in its 2,319 pages to create “Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion” in various federal agencies, but did nothing on Fannie and Freddie…The Treasury says it will put out proposals on the future of Fannie and Freddie early next year but there are few signs that politicians are prepared to get rid of them altogether…They should. The GSEs’ mission is to provide “liquidity, stability and affordability” to America’s mortgage market… America’s obsession with home ownership is itself questionable, especially now that the trap of negative equity has hampered workers’ ability to move in search of jobs. Even if it were a valid goal, there are plenty of countries (Australia, Britain and Canada among them) that have similar or higher levels of home ownership with far less, and in some cases no, systemic government support.”
