Wednesday items.

The Washington Post reports the House of Representatives has voted to raise tariffs on China if it doesn’t raise its currency's value.

At Zero Hedge, Tyler Durden lashes the “House of Idiot Representatives.”

At Café Hayek, Don Boudreaux comments here, here, and here.

On The Kudlow Report, former GW Bush advisor Glenn Hubbard and China basher Peter Navarro discuss the need to improve U.S. exports through a lower dollar relative to the yuan:




At Smart Money, Don Luskin worries the China tariffs could trigger a trade war on par with Smoot-Hawley.

From 1999, Jude Wanniski argues the Smoot-Hawley tariff caused the Great Depression.

At The Financial Post, Alan Reynolds responds to income inequality claims:



At NRO, Larry Kudlow critiques the Fed’s monetarist policy.

On Asia Times, David Goldman suggests China’s slow accumulation of gold will help keep U.S. interest rates low.

At The WSJ, Stephen Moore examines the middle-class impact of expected tax increases.

At the National Center for Policy Analysis, Bob McTeer reports a recent Art Laffer comment:

I was on a program recently with Arthur Laffer, who said some things about the Laffer Curve that I wasn’t fully aware of. There was no handout, but, as I recall, he said that careful examination of IRS tax records indicates that below the highest income levels there is no Laffer-Curve effect i.e., marginal tax-rate reductions at those levels would not fully pay for themselves. On the other hand, at the highest income level, there is a strong Laffer-Curve effect, since “the rich” can afford accountants and tax lawyers to avoid or defer taxes.

Also at The Journal, Moore suggests the current Congress is responsible for rising deficits.

In Australia, Steve Forbes advocates a flat tax or reduction of the top tax rate.

UK Telegraph columnist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard regrets supporting the Fed’s monetary expansion.