Exporting America's Fiscal Responsibility

Dan Drezner notes that federal "Buy American" rules have added some $400 million to the cost of an already obscenely overbudget construction project in California. Foreign steel would be 23 percent cheaper than domestic, but it'd have to be 25 percent cheaper for it to be legal to use it.

Comments

[a.k]

Considering this is a federal law, I don't really see your point Richard. Unless Boxer or Feinstein were behind it.

[Fred Gillette]

Off topic; can someone please give me information about extant Liberterian Parties in Upstate New York. Come on, you guys in Albany, give me a call. This is the time to get motivated.

[Pareto Seeking]

Quick somebody figure out how much we taxpayers are paying for each steel job "saved" as a result of this policy.

I bet steel workers would consider themselves better off if they had to take the next best job and available and got a nice side payment of $100,000. Even if it was $399,999 we could buy foreign steel for this project, lay off 1000 U.S. steel workers and make everyone better off.

Inefficient rent seeking. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Fred Gillette]

OK so I misspelled a word or two, but I am sincere. Boy, how could I misspell Libertarian. Bifocals-need-adjusting, ork...

[Walter Wallis]

Most of the cost of this obscenity is for vanity - a suspension bridge over a mudflat where a viaduct would have served equally well and with a damn sight lower construction and maintenace cost.

[The Lonewacko Blog]

Did you bother to read the comments? According to one of the commentators, the bridge would have had to contain about a zillion tons of steel to make up that $400 million. I'd imagine that the actual amount is either less or it's due to other factors.

[Gimme Back My Dog]

And the comments also state that they were originally confused about the Buy American requirement and, in truth, they are allowed to accept the foreign steel bid.

Of course, if they had saved the tolls collected on the Bay Bridge since they paid for the original construction, they could build the replacement bridge out of gold.

[Richard]

After learning this, is anyone surpised at California's massive budget deficits?

[The Lonewacko Blog]

Here's my interview with Libertarian Party presidential candidate Badnarik.

[The Lonewacko Blog]

Via my giant antenna, I have just learned that Libertarian Party candidate Badnarik is going to be subjected to a probing interview tonight.

[John Doe]

China can make stuff cheaply because: workers are slaves, toxic waste is dumped in the nearest river, quality standards are non-existant and their government wants leverage against us.

We should not restrict imports from developed, democratic countries. We should very much restrict imports from evil and enemy regimes.

[Will]

Did that work really well in Iraq?

Is that working really well in Cuba?

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