It has been disheartening, though not completely surprising, to watch the Republican party move from being the driving force behind terminating the crony capitalist agency known as the Export-Import Bank to a party that will do anything to not step on the toes of the president. Mr. Trump used to think Ex-Im was corporate welfare too, but he now would like to use the Bank as a national security tool to compete with China.
What has been surprising is just how acquiescent Republican senators have been to the president’s pivot to embrace Ex-Im. Take a look, for instance, at the list of those who voted in favor of the nomination of Kimberley Reed as the new Ex-Im head. That vote effectively brought the agency back to life after a four-year hiatus. You will find the names of senators who

It has been disheartening, though not completely surprising, to watch the Republican party move from being the driving force behind terminating the crony capitalist agency known as the Export-Import Bank to a party that will do anything to not step on the toes of the president. Mr. Trump used to think Ex-Im was corporate welfare too, but he now would like to use the Bank as a national security tool to compete with China.
What has been surprising is just how acquiescent Republican senators have been to the president’s pivot to embrace Ex-Im. Take a look, for instance, at the list of those who voted in favor of the nomination of Kimberley Reed as the new Ex-Im head. That vote effectively brought the agency back to life after a four-year hiatus. You will find the names of senators who

Veronique de Rugy writes on President Trump’s economic policies and his habit of "truthful hyperbole".
Read it at Creators.

When you care about freedom, there are a lot of areas where politicians of both sides are two sides of the same coin. I have already highlighted the similar enthusiasm of Senators Josh Hawley and Kamala Harris for using government to achieve their goals. 
Here is another one. When it comes to trade, Senator Elizabeth Warren and President Trump are two peas in a pod.
President Trump’s views on trade are well known. Unfortunately, given the modern presidency’s enormous executive power, Trump has already inflicted on us many of his destructive policies. While some of his more free-market advisors have convinced him to occasionally assert that his ultimate goal is the elimination of all tariffs and subsidies worldwide, these assertions ring hollow given that they are always premised on the

Veronique de Rugy invites readers to revisit Don Lavoie’s writings in light of new popular calls for socialist policies.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy examines the most recent congressional budget deal, in which a bipartisan majority supported record spending.
Read it at The Hill.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the newest federal spending deal, set to create a record-high budget deficit.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy explains the details of the historically low unemployment rate, and the underutilized statistics which provide much more detail about the labor market.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the backfiring effects of the newest salvo of tariffs in President Trump’s trade war with China.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on laws passed in certain countries which aim to reduce deficit spending and provide better oversight over government finances– steps that should be taken in the U.S.
Read it at Reason.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the market’s ability to correct failures.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy examines the market reaction to the trade war with China.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on youth unemployment and the declining youth labor force participation.
Read it at Reason.

Veronique de Rugy advocates against a restoration of the Export-Import Bank.
Read it at Reason.

My colleague Adam Thierer sent me this tweet from Rep. Jillian Gilchrest (D-CT). Apparently, the legislator is thrilled that Connecticut will keep more low-skilled workers out of the labor force by passing an occupational-licensing requirement for, wait for it, eyelash technicians, estheticians, and nail technicians.
Here is the tweet:
I am beyond pleased that Connecticut will join the rest of the country in licensing eyelash technicians, estheticians (July 2020), and nail technicians (Jan 2021). #GettingThingsDone#2019Session
Her ignorance and economic illiteracy would be funny if it were not for the fact that many people will suffer as a result of this restriction. Many will not be able to start their own businesses, while many others will have to pay higher prices for simple cosmetic

Veronique de Rugy writes on the problems of the Federal Reserve launching a real-time payments platform.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy examines the decision by Senate leadership to bolster the Export-Import Bank by confirming new board members and allowing it to reach a quorum.
Read it at the New York Times.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the problems of increased support for electric vehicle subsidies.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on methods for advocates of free trade to better market their ideas.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy writes on some of the counterproductive protectionism included in the NAFTA replacement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Read it at Creators.

Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) just reintroduced a bill called the Export-Import Bank Termination Act of 2019. The congressman honorably aspires to permanently close the federal credit agency because of its extreme cronyism.
Until 2015, the agency used its discretion to extend loans so that foreign corporations would buy American exports from large and well-connected firms. The leader of the winner’s pack was Boeing which would score 70 percent of all Export-Import Bank loan guarantees and 40 percent of all activities.
This is why Ex-Im was commonly called “the Bank of Boeing.”
No more, though. Since 2015, the Bank has been functioning at about 16 percent capacity. The reason: thanks to some Republican members in the Senate, it has failed to get the 3 members on its board of directors

Veronique de Rugy argues that following the anticlimactic release of the Mueller report, politicians should move on.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the effects of reforms to the Export-Import Bank, which have prevented large sums of its annual loan capacity from being handed to Boeing over other businesses.
Read it at AIER.

Veroniqe de Rugy appears on Fox Business’ Cavuto: Coast to Coast to discuss an upcoming trade agreement with China.

Emigrating is the ultimate vote of disapproval.
When a government becomes too oppressive or incompetent, and elections prove inadequate at improving policy, leaving for a better jurisdiction is a citizen’s ultimate trump card. Governments, in turn, compete to attract those individuals who are dissatisfied with their current homes. The benefits of this competition accrue to us all, even to those who never move.
We see this effect most clearly with taxes. Tax competition between national jurisdictions doesn’t just benefit the individuals and businesses who move to different countries to escape onerous tax burdens. By providing a check on political avarice that would otherwise lead to highly destructive tax rates, this competition also helps to keep the global economy strong.
We see this

Veronique de Rugy writes on President Trump’s extraordinarily massive budget proposal.
Read it at Townhall.

Veronique de Rugy discusses the "national security" justification behind auto tariffs.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy joins the panel on Cavuto: Coast to Coast to discuss trade negotiations with the European Union.

Amazon just announced that it is abandoning its plans to build a new headquarters in New York City after the company faced stiff resistance from some local politicians led by the vocal new star of the Democratic Party, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Their objection: giving one of the world’s most valuable companies billions of dollars in tax incentives.
You won’t hear me say this often, but in this case AOC got it right. It was indeed an outrage for the city to extend to Amazon over $3 billion in subsidies. In fact, there is never any good reason for government to subsidize a private company. Such handouts are appalling in their cronyism, in addition to being a sign of economic ignorance.
In this case, the justification for the subsidies to Amazon is that NYC officials believed them to be

Veronique de Rugy discusses the need for new healthcare payment solutions.
Read the article on Creators.