Now I’ve done it! The e-mails are pouring in, most of which are variations on this one:

Good to see the folks at Cato adopting the liberal technique of equating a tax break with a government handout.

Tell me, if the feds knock $10k off your taxes for buying x, how is that any different from mailing you $10k for buying x? The only difference that I can see between the former and the latter is the manner in which the money is disbursed.

To say the former is “conservative” policy and the latter is “liberal” policy is to make a fetish out of procedure.