Trade: Not an Obama Priority

ABC News reports:

Saying that he has come to the realization that trade is not the highest priority for the incoming Obama administration, Rep. Xavier Becerra has decided not to accept Barack Obama's offer to be United States Trade Representative, according to an interview the California Democrat gave to the editorial board of La Opinion, a Spanish-language newspaper in Los Angeles....

Becerra said, "My concern was how much weight this position [U.S. Trade Representative] would have and I came to the conclusion that it would not be priority No. 1, and perhaps, not even priority No. 2 or 3."

This was what worried me last March.

Update: A reader suggests that I misinterpreted this story. If trade had been a priority, the reader suggests, it would have a renegotiation of trade agreements and a retreat from free trade. So putting trade on a back burner is then good news.

Perhaps. But I suppose this means that Joe Biden will not be following in the footsteps of Al Gore, who as veep defended the Bush-negotiated NAFTA on nationwide TV. Recall that there are still several pending free trade agreements, including those with Colombia and South Korea. The incoming adminstration would boost business confidence, and maybe investment spending as well, if it made a clear commitment to get these treaties passed and to continue pushing for more open markets.

#462: pretty.

via saipua.

LONDON - great marlborough street, 12/17/08

Update on Rue la la

Here's an update on Rue la la girls. From now until December 31, if you do the following, they are going to give you a 10 dollar credit to use for their sample sales. Do I need to mention that the John Hardy boutique is up and running this morning AND shoshanna starts tomorrow? And by doing this, you automatically are invited to join the fun, so I am going to stop manually adding those of you who commented on the last post.

Here's what you do:

1. Go to www.ruelala.com/gift
2. Enter my e-mail: preppywedding@hotmail.com

And WOWSA. You get a 10 dollar credit.

Thanks to our friends at rue la la.

#461: the aisle.

via pink by echo.



this is what i will be working with. well, minus the decorations.

i just did a quick 2-minute brainstorming session and had the following thoughts:
*no aisle
*no loose petals
*no christmas lights
*could they move that bust on the mantle
*if not, what could i cover it with
*hang ribbon or mini banners criss-crossed on the chandeliers
*or hang pomanders on the chandeliers
*candles on the ground seem dangerous
*so maybe put candles on the mantle, if any at all
*maybe no decorations would work best.

those of you who had an indoor ceremony setup, and particularly in dimmish lighting, how did you make it work for you?

#460: continuing the money talk.

what may be common sense for some may not be so obvious for others.

if you think you're in the latter category and could use some tips as you plan your wedding, give these a read:

1) ...via perfect bound.

2) ...via manolo for the brides.

Crises and Government

Click on the figure to enlarge.

The above figure (reprinted from my favorite textbook) shows government revenue as a percent of GDP. The most noteworthy feature of these data is the substantial growth of government from 1929 to 1945. It is easy to understand why the size of government grew so much during this period: The nation was responding to the crises of the Great Depression and, especially, World War II. But what is noteworthy is that while these crises were transitory, the increase in the scope of government was permanent.

This historical episode is one reason why advocates of limited government are rightly worried about the fiscal stimulus package that the incoming administration is going to propose. Rahm Emanuel, the new White House chief of staff, is reported to have said, "You don't ever want to let a crisis go to waste: It's an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid." It is not entirely clear what he meant by this. But one interpretation is that he wants to use a temporary crisis as a pretense to engineer a permanent increase in the size of government.

Here is one question reporters should focus on when evaluating the proposed plan: Five or ten years from now, when the economy is presumably at some normal level of employment and growth, what will the federal budget look like, as evaluated by the budget deficit and tax revenue as a share of GDP?

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Update: Russ Roberts emails me that "Robert Higgs's Crisis and Leviathan is devoted to the relationship between the size of government and crisis." Thanks, Russ, for the reference.