The Circle of (Government) Life, ctd.

Investor's Business Daily -- "Ex-employees of the failed solar panel company Solyndra have applied for aid under the federal government’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program, the Labor Department has confirmed.

Last week, I discussed how the rampant subsidization of "green industries" like US biofuels manufacturers, combined with increased US government efforts to increase exports, could lead to an onslaught of new trade cases in foreign markets or the WTO, as subsidized American "green" exports began to penetrate foreign markets and injure (or threaten) their competition.  Noting a new Australian anti-subsidy case against US biofuels, I said at the time:

It's not too often that one of my law/policy idols writes on trade issues, so when Professor Epstein does, he gets his own blog post.  In his usual clear-and-brutal manner, Epstein dismantles the White House's Trade Adjustment Assistance demands and the case for "fair trade" more broadly.  Here's the best part, but the whole thing is definitely worth reading - twice:

(Reuters) - The U.S.

The Cato Institute will he hosting me and the Washington Examiner's excellent Tim Carney to talk about my new paper and the ridiculously awful state of US and global subsidy policy.  Event details are below, and you can register here.  Look forward to seeing you there!

China has for some time been subsidizing its solar industry and betting big on clean energy. But the huge bet seems to be crumbling now, and at the center of the meltdown is Suntech Power Holdings, one of the world's biggest solar panel markers.

Over the last several years, China's subsidization of its domestic solar panel industry has attracted ire and envy in the United States.  Bankrupt US solar producers and the US politicians who subsidized them have been quick to deride pernicious Chinese subsidies - rather than their own political or policy mismanagement - as unfairly creating a global export juggernaut that has doomed their business.

From today's WSJ staff editorial: