In his column today, E.J. argues that it is a sign of America’s yawning “imagination deficit” that we aren’t copying China and Europe more by spending more on trains, roads, etc. Apparently socialized medicine is really clever and groundbreaking stuff. He also invokes a bunch of big business CEOs who want more taxpayer subsidies for products that are “profitable” only because they are heavily subsidized both on the production side and the demand side. Oh, and it shows how unimaginative we are that we aren’t taxing people more, too.
Corporatism, statism, higher taxes, mimicking Europe and authoritarian regimes, and spending a lot more on roads and locomotives: What original, outside-the-box thinking! It’s almost like E.J. doesn’t realize these ideas are over a century old.