Samuelson on the Consequences of Big Government. “Without anyone much noticing, our national government is on the verge of a permanent expansion that would endure long after the present economic crisis has (presumably) passed and that would exceed anything ever experienced in peacetime.”
Echoes of Herbert Croly’s Promise of American Life. “For nearly a century, California offered ordinary people better lives than they could lead perhaps anywhere else in the world. Today, reflecting our intensely stratified, increasingly mobile society, California affords the Good Life only to the most gifted and ambitious, regardless of their background. That’s a deeply undemocratic betrayal of California’s dream—and of the promise of American life.”
A Rare Defense of the Vietnam War. “Despite the fall of Saigon in 1975, Vietnam was not a “futile” conflict. The U.S. effort bought time for Thailand and other nations in East and Southeast Asia to develop in relative peace. Their prosperity, in turn, showed the world the difference between the fruits of capitalism and the poverty of socialism. Like the Korean War, Vietnam needs to be understood as an honorable battle fought to a draw in America’s longer and victorious Cold War.”
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy propose that governments “no longer stand idle” and intervene in markets to keep oil prices at some ideal level.
Do Retraining Programs Work? “Tens of thousands of laid-off workers like Mr. Hutchins have turned to retraining as a lifeline. Yet for all the popularity of these government-financed programs, there are questions about whether they actually work, even as President Obama’s stimulus plan directs $1.4 billion more to retraining and other services for people who have lost their jobs.”
What the Senate Means Today. Judge Posner explores the changed role of the Senate since the Founding and the political ramifications of a filibuster-proof majority.