Cato: US Needs to Look at Canada For Pointers On Capitalism, Small Government

In things I never thought I would be reading: The libertarian think tank Cato Institute is touting the merits of Canada. So much for being a socialist backwater. Canada and Jefferson’s Natural Progress

Major pro-market reforms are possible in advanced welfare states — Jefferson can be proven wrong, as Canada illustrates. U.S policymakers can prove Jefferson wrong as well. They can start by cutting spending, decentralizing power out of Washington, and making pro-growth tax reforms in response to globalization, as Canada has, rather than imposing self-defeating “Buy America” provisions and making childish rants about “corporations moving jobs offshore.”

This is another result of George W. Bush's disastrous administration. Who would have even considered reading something like this 10 years ago? Canada has taken some positive steps in the right direction while the US was getting worse and worse. It only took a less than a decade to see the rot show through in America.

Protectionism Behind Lottery Flap

The silly "scandal" at the Ontario lottery commission has more to it than meets the eye:

The minister in charge of Ontario's scandal-ridden lottery commission has blown a gasket over a "crappy decision" to give away foreign-made Mercedes-Benz cars as casino prizes.

Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman was incredulous that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. purchased 22 Mexican- and German-made B200 hatchbacks at a time when the province is trying to bail out General Motors Canada and Chrysler Canada to protect Canadian jobs.

Essentially, isn't this the same thing as Obama saying that they are going to use US steel only for government sponsored infastructure projects, that had us screaming up here?

With Big Government taking over more businesses look for more of this crap.

PJ O'Rourke: What Would Adam Smith Think Today?

As usual, PJ hits the ball out of the park. The Financial Times has this new commentary. Don't let me get in the way, just read it:

How then would Adam Smith fix the present mess? Sorry, but it is fixed already. The answer to a decline in the value of speculative assets is to pay less for them. Job done.

We could pump the banks full of our national treasure. But Smith said: “To attempt to increase the wealth of any country, either by introducing or by detaining in it an unnecessary quantity of gold and silver, is as absurd as it would be to attempt to increase the good cheer of private families, by obliging them to keep an nnecessary number of kitchen utensils.” [440]

We could send in the experts to manage our bail-out. But Smith said: “I have never known much good done by those who affect to trade for the public good.” [456]

And we could nationalise our economies. But Smith said: “The state cannot be very great of which the sovereign has leisure to carry on the trade of a wine merchant or apothecary”. [818] Or chairman of General Motors.

Read the whole thing.