To Cut Wasteful Spending, Start With Energy Subsidies
Ending the government’s preferential treatment of energy technologies is the best way to ensure long-term economic and environmental sustainability.
Federal subsidies
Abolish the Small Business Administration
Like all government perks, SBA lending creates unseen victims.
Elon Musk Spent $118 Million To Elect Trump. What Will He Get in Return?
Will the mercurial tech mogul put his thumb on the scale to help his own companies, or will he push for a broader deregulatory agenda?
The Empty Promises of Industrial Policy
Despite decades of bipartisan attempts, industrial policy keeps failing to deliver on promises from both the left and the right.
What Happens When FEMA Buys Your House?
As hurricane damage mounts, the government is buying—and sometimes seizing—homes in flood-prone areas, sparking concerns over property rights and accusations of discrimination.
Why Trump's Child Care Policy Incoherence Matters
If the Republican Party's presidential candidate can't articulate a supply-side alternative to costly Democratic proposals, then government will get bigger.
Industrial Policy Is Alive and Well at the Democratic National Convention
Speakers at the 2024 convention bragged about the Democratic Party's willingness to give public money to private companies.
Government Subsidies Keep Your Food Boring
The feds’ focus on large-scale crops hinders the resurgence of heritage grains and results in less food diversity.
Biden Is Against Corporate Welfare Except When He's for It
Government officials seek to shape the economy to the liking of politicians.
Federal Handout to Intel Will Cost $283,000 Per Job, and That's Being Generous
And the real kicker is that Intel was probably going to create those jobs without taxpayers funding anything.
The Political Right Has Luxury Beliefs, Too
Support for industrial policy and protectionism are supposed to help the working class. Instead, these ideas elevate the already privileged.
Not All Policy Is Industrial Policy
Just say no to empowering government actors to put their thumbs on the scale on behalf of certain sectors.
If Semiconductor Chip Demand Is High, Why Do We Need More Subsidies?
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says more chip subsidies are needed, even before the Biden administration has distributed $52 billion or measured how effective that spending was.
Feds To Spend Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on E.V. Chargers in 'Disadvantaged Communities'
The projects include $1.4 million for a charging station in a remote Alaskan community with barely 2,000 people.
On Economic Issues, the Populist Right and Left Share a Lot of Common Ground
That's bad news for Americans.
Tesla's Expensive New Cybertruck May Qualify for $7,500 in E.V. Tax Credits
According to a Treasury Department website, two of the three Cybertruck models currently offered would qualify for tax credits.
Everglades Restoration Complicated by Florida Agricultural Interests
Tariffs and sugar subsidies have propped up overvalued land needed to fix the environmental damage.
Nikki Haley Opposed Boeing Subsidies at Tonight's GOP Debate. As Governor, She Gave Boeing Millions.
The former South Carolina governor can't decide whether she likes corporate subsidies or opposes them on principle.
Democrats Say They're Fighting Inequality. But Many of Their Policies Favor the Rich.
Over the last several years, they have worked nonstop to ease the tax burden of their high-income constituents.
Joe Biden's Plan for 31 Subsidized 'Tech Hubs' Is an Old, Tired Idea That's Doomed To Fail
Presidential administrations from both parties keep trying to make "place-based" economic development work.
Companies Seeking CHIPS Act Subsidies Are Encouraged To Double-Dip
At least a dozen states have beefed up targeted incentives to coincide with handouts from the Commerce Department.
How Florida Beat California to High-Speed Rail
One company is betting that it can run a commercially viable passenger rail service without massive federal subsidies.
Subsidies Won't Stop Stagnation
Joe Biden is making an $80 billion bet that's doomed to fail.
Nikki Haley Slams Biden's 'Green Subsidies'
The GOP presidential candidate also definitively said climate change is real.
The Government Has Made College an Overpriced Scam
Thankfully, you don't need fancy dining halls or a college degree to have a good life or get a good job.
Yellow Corporation To Close, Lay Off 30,000 Employees, and Likely Default on $700 Million Pandemic Aid Loan
The company blames much of its problems on the Teamsters trucking union's "intransigence," while the Teamsters say Yellow is delinquent on benefit payments.
Trucking Company on the Hook for $700 Million Federal Loan Files for Bankruptcy
Reason reported last month that with less than two years left on its loan, Yellow Corporation owed more than it originally borrowed and had repaid only $230 in principal.
Taiwanese Company Demands U.S. Taxpayers Cover the Higher Costs of Making Semiconductors in Arizona
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company cites regulatory costs and a lack of skilled workers as specific impediments. Biden and Congress can fix those without giving out billions of taxpayer dollars.
Turns Out 'Bidenomics' Means Top-Down Economic Control
Joe Biden's big economic speech is a poor attempt at a branding exercise.
Biden's Industrial Policy Promises a Return to the 1970s
The hard lesson that free markets are better than state control may have to be relearned.
U.N. Climate Report Recommends Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies
One place where environmentalists and libertarians are on the same page
A Thursday Bonus Reason Roundtable! Live From Reason Weekend in California
Plus: did the editors sing Happy Birthday to Adam Smith?
A Thursday Bonus Reason Roundtable! Live From Reason Weekend in California
Plus: did the editors sing Happy Birthday to Adam Smith?
Biden's 'Economic Plan' Is Industrial Policy That Will Be Terrible for Workers and Consumers
The Democratic president is supercharging former president Trump's failed approach to domestic manufacturing.
Bailouts Should Not Be the Norm
During the pandemic, the U.S. mortgage market avoided collapse without any bailouts. Here's how.
Politicians Use Subsidies To Squeeze Semiconductor Manufacturers
When politicians manipulate industry, the public pays the price.
TikTok and How Congress Treats Americans Like 'Unruly Children'
Plus: The editors puzzle over Donald Trump’s latest list describing his vision for America.
Decades of Subsidies Have Made the Essentials of Middle-Class Life Increasingly Difficult To Afford
The basics of middle-class life are too expensive. But more subsidies won't help.
Now the CHIPS Act Is Going To Subsidize Child Care Too
If Congress wants to spend taxpayer money on child care services, it should pass a bill authorizing that.
China Is Scaling Back Its Failed Semiconductor Industrial Policies. America Should Do the Same.
The warning signs are flashing "don't be like China."
Subsidies Won't Fix the Energy Industry
Ending subsidies can help cut emissions and energy costs.
Biden's New Industrial Policy Will Fail, Just Like Industrial Policy Always Fails
While campaigning for the midterm election, the president is promoting a disastrous and expensive form of economic protectionism.
Government Subsidies Encouraged Millions To Move Into Hurricane Ian's Destructive Path
Plus: Reason livestream on right-wing populism, the government can't solve the fentanyl crisis, and more...
How a Massachusetts Power Plant Illustrates America's Fraught Shift to Green Energy
Brayton Point was a coal-fired plant that tried to clean up its act. Protesters and politicians demanded its closure. A new offshore wind project won't be sufficient to replace it.
The Export-Import Bank's New 'Made in America' Corporate Welfare Scheme
The bank's new domestic financing program is a poorly defined, unnecessary exercise that will throw taxpayer money at projects the private capital markets have deemed too risky.
The Time the Federal Government Built a Flawed Housing Project and Tore It Down 20 Years Later
The government has learned nothing about affordable housing in the 50 years since Pruitt-Igoe came toppling down.
Biden Dumps Free Community College From Spending Bill
These schools are already extremely accessible to low-income students. Don’t mess with their flexibility.
What Did Public Schools Do With COVID Relief Money? Whatever They Wanted.
Track and field equipment and salaries for custodians are among the goods and services school districts purchased with COVID-19 relief money. Figuring out what they did with the rest of it remains difficult.
