Both major candidates seem sadly enthusiastic for dirigisme. Trump thinks he’s smart enough to impose industrial policy and 20% tariffs. Harris, while apparently retreating from Medicare for all and federal job guarantees, wants price controls and a major housing role for the feds. Neither seems particularly interested in what Congress might think.

If we’re not careful, we may see a return to the semi-fascistic days of FDR, with enthusiastic mandarins and commissars monitoring the country’s economic hallways, and businesses pressured to post blue eagle placards to show their enthusiasm for the regime.