James Freeman quotes from my Export-Import Bank paper, due out tomorrow, in his Best of the Web column in The Wall Street Journal:
An Education in Crony Capitalism
The federal government’s Export-Import Bank, which has been proudly subsidizing big business for generations, is likely to be saved by Congress before its authorization expires at the end of the month. But the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Ryan Young, author of a new paper due out tomorrow, is urging lawmakers to consider the possibilities of slightly smaller government. Mr. Young writes:
The Ex-Im Bank is compromised by internal corruption, constantly pressured by corporations seeking special favors, and creates economic inefficiencies by distorting markets… The Bank recently emerged from a nearly five-year period of reduced activity, which saved taxpayers an astonishing $47.9 billion – an average of $12 billion per year. Shuttering the bank could save Americans billions more.
Freeman’s whole column is here. Since Ex-Im reauthorization is near-certain, the bulk of the paper is on second-best reforms that can limit Ex-Im’s harms until its next reauthorization round. Closing the agency remains the ideal. I’ll post a link when the paper is released.
Inertia Wins! 