What She Really Means
23 September 2006
Editor, The Baltimore Sun
Dear Editor:
Let's reveal the ugly underbelly of Sen. Barbara Mikulski's letter in which she boasts of her support of special government privileges for the steel industry (Letters, September 23).
She writes: "I have fought for measures to protect America's steel companies and its workers." This sentence instead should read "I have fought for measures to shield America's steel producers from the rigors of competition by preventing American consumers from spending their money as they deem best."
She writes: "I fought for the creation of the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program to provide emergency loan guarantees to help steel companies weather the storm." This sentence instead should read "I have fought to force taxpayers to subsidize steel companies that are too inefficient to get adequate private financing."
Were she truly honest and courageous, Sen. Mikulski would summarize her position by saying "In short, I have worked hard to appease a powerful interest group - and to improve my chances of staying in the Senate - even though doing so makes most Americans poorer and less free."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Baltimore Sun
Dear Editor:
Let's reveal the ugly underbelly of Sen. Barbara Mikulski's letter in which she boasts of her support of special government privileges for the steel industry (Letters, September 23).
She writes: "I have fought for measures to protect America's steel companies and its workers." This sentence instead should read "I have fought for measures to shield America's steel producers from the rigors of competition by preventing American consumers from spending their money as they deem best."
She writes: "I fought for the creation of the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program to provide emergency loan guarantees to help steel companies weather the storm." This sentence instead should read "I have fought to force taxpayers to subsidize steel companies that are too inefficient to get adequate private financing."
Were she truly honest and courageous, Sen. Mikulski would summarize her position by saying "In short, I have worked hard to appease a powerful interest group - and to improve my chances of staying in the Senate - even though doing so makes most Americans poorer and less free."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Saturday May 26, 2007 at 1:13pm