Weekend round up.

From Forbes, Nathan Lewis highlights the genius of the 18th century gold standard.

At New World Economics, Lewis notes that demand for stable money is much higher than for unstable.

The WSJ editorial board disputes Goldman Sachs’s recent Keynesian analysis of spending cuts.

On The Kudlow Report, Stephen Moore debates the Wisconsin budget battle:



At RCM, Joe Calhoun sees hopes for real fiscal reform fading.

From last week's WSJ, weak dollar advocate Fred Bergsten discusses his successful campaign to force China to appreciate the yuan.

At PIIE, Bergsten advocates three global currencies.

On Kudlow, James Pethokoukis and Peter Navarro debate the rise of China and India:



From Seeking Alpha, Kevin McElroy explains why currency devaluation is bad policy.

The Economist notes the American Economic Review’s list of top 100 articles includes Robert Mundell’s Theory of Optimum Currency Areas.

In another sign of inflation, GOOD notes the declining size of various products.

From NCPA, former Federal Reserve governor Bob McTeer claims surprise at calls for Fed reform since it has done a good job keeping inflation low.

On Forbes, John Tamny discusses the economic growth rates in Texas and California.

Also at Forbes, Bill Flax hopes Congress will shut down government.

From Forbes, Reuven Brenner suggests taxing smoking through higher health care costs rather than cigarettes.

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.

Wednesday items.

At CNBC, Larry Kudlow writes that dollar decline doesn’t help the economy.

On Gordon Liddy’s radio program, John Tamny discusses gold and the falling dollar.

From China’s CCTV, Robert Mundell opposes raising the yuan.

The NY Times’ David Leonhardt explains several reasons why a higher yuan won’t help the US, but supports doing it anyway. He omits that a significant yuan rise will push down Chinese prices, cancelling out the impact on global trade.

In The LA Times, Peter Navarro – who, oddly, calls himself a supply-sider – urges Congress to punish China for its yuan/dollar peg.

On Kudlow, David Goldman debates Fed policy:



At Asia Times, Goldman comments further.

On Forbes, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) suggests easy Fed policy enables government debt.

At CNBC, David Malpass analyzes his Senate campaign and the state of the economy:



Bloomberg’s Amity Schlaes estimates total top tax rates will rise above 50 percent if the President’s tax proposal takes effect.

At NRO, Kevin Williamson distinguishes between Keynesian tax rebates and long-term supply side tax cuts.

Also on Kudlow, Allen Sinai discusses his study on cutting capital gains taxes:



On The Frum Forum, Scott Winship argues income inequality arguments are overstated.