Links

Reagan: what isn't this guy to blame for?

• Remember when I mentioned the corporate interests behind yesterday's cap and trade rally? I really wasn't kidding.

• Harvard economist Robert J. Barro and Charles J. Redlick argue that new research of theirs shows the multiplier effect of government spending to be largely mythical while tax cuts provide a real boost. This seems intuitive, as for government spending to provide a greater bang for the buck you have to believe government allocates money more efficiently than the private sector.

• Supposedly former Labor Secretary Robert Reich believes that Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged have done more damage to young Americans than any books in American history.

• Paul Krugman thinks the culprit for budget deficits under President Obama is the late Ronald Reagan.

• The New York Times reports that a new tariff on imports of solar panels (these guys really can't catch a break!) may place a new strain on bilateral trade.