Trump Socialism in the Defense Bill

At Reason, Veronique de Rugy rightly takes Republicans to task for sneakily doing what the Democratic Socialists of America at least have the decency to be open about, reagrding government stakes in private companies:

As Cato's Tad DeHaven notes, "The seven nonbinding letters of intent would provide up to $874 million in CHIPS and Science Act research and development incentives." Remember when most Republicans were against the CHIPS Act passed under former President Joe Biden? I do. And remember when they claimed to care about fiscal responsibility?

How about opposing ownership stakes simply because the right may not always be in charge? An executive branch that can hand out ownership at its discretion has acquired a permanent power, and such powers outlive the people who establish them. Picture a future Democratic president inheriting 30 companies' worth of shareholder rights and the leverage that comes with these: board seats, emissions mandates, conditions bolted onto the next round of funding.

This is no paranoid fantasy. The Senate's defense bill would give the Pentagon its own equity portfolio, which means Congress may write the administration's practice into statute rather than kill it. The right is loading a gun and trusting that only its friends will hold it. LOL, as the young people say. [bold added]

Yes. Today's Republicans evidently don't appreciate points that one would have once thought obvious to them.

The rest is worth reading and includes a succinct reminder of why government ownership of companies is such a terrible idea.

The steep decline of the Republicans on economic issues is so startling that I'll spare de Rugy criticism for failing to ask By what right does the government own anything?

These people can't get even the easy stuff right, anymore.

-- CAV