Richard Bennett

Pat Buchanan likes the steel tariffs, but you expected that.

— “Thus, recent skirmishes in the nation’s capital — sophisticated word games that have raised “spin” to a new level — give Americans yet a new reason to reach for the anti-nausea tonic. As politicians debate whether Congress and the president are co-equals in government and compete for “most patriotic” in the superlative sweepstakes, we are reminded once again that politics knows no shame.” — Kathleen Parker

— Mickey Kantor, Clinton’s trade rep, approves of the president’s tariffs on steel, for the reasons I gave below. (Tariffs May Temper a Glut of Steel)

Thirty-one American steel companies have gone bankrupt since 1997, and the steel industry in many nations is in jeopardy.

It’s interesting that none of those bashing the president on this issue have estimated its dollar impact on, say, a Ford Taurus. The only estimates I’ve heard put it around zero dollars to the consumer, on the theory that foreign steel producers will lower their prices and eat it.

— Everybody and his uncle are talking about the steel tariffs, so I have to jump on the bandwagon. Steel is good, tariffs are bad; a nation without a steel industry is also bad, as is dumping aimed at wrecking an industry. Milton Friedman used to say that as long as a foreign country is willing to sell us steel at less than cost, we should buy a whole shitload of it and whistle as we did it. There’s a certain logic in that, but the practice of market manipulation isn’t all that cool.

So the only way to resolve this standoff that makes any sense to me is to demand something from our domestic steel producers in return for the price protection, like a tax credit for infrastructure upgrades or basic research paid for with the tariff. If the credits aren’t claimed, we drop the tariff, but as long as our boys are doing the right thing we help them along. Americans don’t get the fact that public/private strategic partnerships are commonplace in the rest of the world, and we can’t compete in vital industries without them. Where this really makes a difference is in industries like electronics with a high R & D component.

There was a time when AT&T’s telephone monopoly paid dividends to the country through the basic research at Bell Labs, which produced hundreds of patents a year. We’ve lost that national resource, and a similar one at IBM when they lost their effective monopoly on computers. The truly galling thing about Microsoft, by the way, is that they don’t innovate as Bell Labs and IBM Research did in their heydays; the boys at Redmond simply ape the competition and drive them under with dirty tricks, but that’s another story.

Consumers aren’t going to feel the effects of the steel tariff anyay, since there’s only a couple hundred dollars worth of steel in a car, and miniscule amounts in most consumer goods since plastic and aluminum are so much more widespread. Most of the screaming is from libertarian principles which are fine in the abstract but don’t offer much guidance when somebody is punching you in the face, economically speaking.

— Campaign finance reform is one of the worst ideas since term limits, because it empowers special interest groups what are wholly unaccountable, just as TL empowered lobbyists and unelected staffers. This article by damn fine reporter Greg Lucas (Campaign funding’s loopholes wide open / Candidates’ limits don’t apply to groups) addresses the reality of CFR:

“To date, we have raised twice as much as we spent in 2000. We knew we had to up the ante on independent expenditures because with contribution limits, we had to make the voter contact ourselves,” said Cassandra Pye, executive director of the Jobs PAC.

Lucas used to write the California Insider political humor column for the Chronicle, until Carole Migden compained too much about him and they canned it. It’s strange that he sticks around that swamp.

— The Hispanic group that stole The Patriot’s print run in Berkeley is on the attack against the Secret Jewish Conspiracy to the People of Color Down (MEChA at U.C. Berkeley Slandered)

There is a definite connection between both groups and other racist groups on campuses through out the country that are increasingly acting out against students of Mexican descent, Muslim students and certain Afro-American students who believe that Jews were actively involved in the slave trade.

As I recall, it was the Muslims who were, and still are, the most active slavers, but the Aztecs and Toltecs were no slouches either.

— Or at least one of his biggest supporters does (State teachers union calls for tax increases)

One of California’s largest teachers unions on Friday urged the state to increase taxes and find other ways to collect more revenue from the wealthy to help grapple with a potential budget shortfall that could reach $15 billion.

The poor boy is getting no help from the Commies in his party.

— Simon’s not exactly rabid, but he made some forceful criticism of Davis’ obsession with campaign fund-raising to the exclusion of state business (Simon Attacks Davis Over Fiscal Woes)

Simon attacked his Democratic opponent’s ethics at a luncheon of agricultural leaders. By ignoring the state’s energy and fiscal problems, Simon told them, Davis left the budget “totally out of control” with a $17-billion shortfall.

This is a great opening gambit – Simon has to make the campaign about Davis, highlighting his gross mismanagement of the state, and the fundraising business. The media has been all over Davis for the fundraising thing, so this works in spades. Another story in the Mercury News described Simon has “charming.”