Discrimination

Dan Griswold of the Cato Institute notes government economic discrimination against Mexicans while Greg Mankiw notes government discrimination against all foreigners. Given the opposition of Democrats against free trade you have to concede that at least they are being consistent.

Spend, Spend, Spend

It seems that literally every week brings news of some new Democratic spending initiative:

House Democrats unveiled a $410 billion spending bill on Monday to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year, setting up the second political struggle over federal funds in less than a month with Republicans.

The measure includes thousands of earmarks, the pet projects favored by lawmakers but often criticized by the public in opinion polls. There was no official total of the bill's earmarks, which accounted for at least $3.8 billion.

The legislation, which includes an increase of roughly 8 percent over spending in the last fiscal year, is expected to clear the House later in the week.

We're being spent into oblivion. Again, where are the tough choices? Where is the sacrifice and the new way of doing things?

The really sad part is that I am not at all sure how outraged Americans are over this. I suspect that a sizable number, perhaps even the majority, look at this as a great thing, like the government is playing the role of Santa Claus handing out free gifts. Given that so many of us reap government benefits while paying little tax it is a perfectly rational attitude.

And then there's this:

In another change, the legislation bans Mexican-licensed trucks from operating outside commercial zones along the border with the United States. The Teamsters Union, which supported Obama's election last year, hailed the move.

The Bush administration backed a pilot program to permit up to 500 trucks from 100 Mexican motor carriers access to U.S. roads.

Again, more economic discrimination against foreigners by the Democrats. And this is the crowd that says they are going to restore our standing in the world or whatever.

The only good thing in this bill is that is relaxes travel restrictions to Cuba and expands the sale of food and medicine to the island, but that's a small consolation.

America for the Americans

The Democrat-controlled Congress -- the same people who talk about the need to improve relations with the rest of the world and who love to brag about how well traveled and cosmopolitan they are -- has voted to prohibit financial institutions that take bailout money from hiring foreigners with H-1B visas. Yeah, some Republicans voted for it too such as Sen. Grassley of Iowa (who should probably be put out to pasture) but at least they aren't out there engaging in gooey talk about how they are citizens of the world, etc.

Economic nationalism

Republicans get tagged as the party that most enjoys wrapping itself in the flag and over the top patriotism, but take a look at how the vote went down to strip the stimulus bill of its "buy American" provision:

YEAs ---31
Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Bunning (R-KY) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID)	DeMint (R-SC) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Hatch (R-UT) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Kyl (R-AZ) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL)	McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Wicker (R-MS)

NAYs ---65
Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Brownback (R-KS) Burr (R-NC) Burris (D-IL) Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI)	Feinstein (D-CA) Gillibrand (D-NY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Hagan (D-NC) Harkin (D-IA) Hutchison (R-TX) Inouye (D-HI) Johnson (D-SD) Kaufman (D-DE) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lincoln (D-AR) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) Merkley (D-OR) Mikulski (D-MD)	Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Vitter (R-LA) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

Notice a pattern? It's both funny and disturbing how Europeans and other foreigners tend to favor the Democrats even as the Democrats continue to screw them (and us) over.

(via Greg Mankiw)

Responding to Harold Meyerson

Harold Meyerson writes a column. My e-mailed response:

Mr. Meyerson,

I read your latest column with interest and have a few questions that I wish you could answer. The first is regarding the manufacturing sector. You express regret over the fact that fewer Americans are working in the manufacturing sector, but I fail to see why this is a bad thing. I used to work in the manufacturing sector and know what it is like to toil on an assembly line. Frankly, it's no fun at all. It's rather mind numbing and not the healthiest of environments. (Indeed, The Washington Post had an article within the past week about the Democratic primary in Ohio that featured a factory worker who was in constant pain from the physical requirements of his job) Currently I work in a white collar job for a research/consulting firm that is much more stimulating and higher paying. The factory I used to work in has now closed -- why should I mourn its demise any more than the decline of Americans employed in the agricultural sector?

Second, how do you reconcile your liberalism with your economic nationalism? To me, it really shouldn't matter the nationality of people who get jobs. In fact, when the poor in other countries are able to lift themselves out of poverty because of foreign investment it strikes me as a cause for celebration. Why discriminate based on the basis of what passport you carry? Shouldn't we just look at workers and people as simply people, and have compassion for all of them regardless of what country they are from? In recent decades globalization has resulted in literally hundreds of millions of foreigners being raised out of poverty -- unquestionably a good thing. At the same time, U.S. unemployment has fallen to around 5%. Seems to me we are all better off. Is there another time it would be better to be alive in this country?

Lastly, why is industrial policy a good thing? Why should the government further strengthen its links with corporations? Asian countries seems to be leading practitioners of this approach and I'm not sure I would rather be a worker in any of those countries than the U.S. Japan, perhaps the leading example, has been in economic torpor for most of the past 15 years. Authoritarian China doesn't seem a leading example for the U.S. to emulate either. Germany, likewise, has experienced economic frustrations that have been largely attributable to its industrial policy approach. I fail to see the case for following the lead of such countries.

Thanks for your consideration of my comments.

Sincerely,

Colin