Protectionism

The juxtaposition of Google tacitly accusing the EU with “digital protectionism” and “discrimination” as the EU’s Digital Chief, Günther Oettinger, visits D.C. and Silicon Valley, while the Google-created Internet Association this week asks for U.S. protection from ISP “discrimination” in an appeals court brief in support of the FCC’s Open Internet order – exposes exceptional hypocrisy.

The Twentieth was the Century of the Welfare State. Governments the world over built and then continuously grew their domestic aid money delivery apparatuses. Tens of trillions of dollars were spent in attempts to raise poor people up and out.

It’s been disastrous.

Your average government – anywhere in the world – has more resources at its disposal than just about any private company on the planet.

So when a government sets its sites on making a private company’s life miserable – it almost always can. Because it can put the full weight of the Leviathan behind the push – and it is spending Other People’s Money to do it.

The United States and Japan are at the trade negotiation table – for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Absolutely excellent. The freer the trade the better – the more the merrier.

As a committed believer in capitalism and economic liberty, the policy differences between presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are very stark. Regarding taxes, Romney supports broad tax reform…

Ever since the term “nanny state” was used by British MP Iain Macleod in a column in The Spectator in 1965, it has become a regular part of the parlance…