Liberal Talk Radio

Today it’s Memorial Day, so let’s take a moment to honor all those who have made the supreme sacrifice.

Myself, I spent the weekend in Eastern Washington. Around the campfire last night talk turned to the WTO and its effects. My favorite free-trade argument is Tom Friedman’s: No two nations with a McDonald’s will go to war with one another. I support international free trade because I don’t like war.

So I have to smile when I read this. The U.S. is filing a complaint with the WTO because it accuses the E.U. of illegally subsidizing Airbus. This is how international disputes should all be handled, in my opinion.

As to the substance of the arument? Well, let’s just say that the $1.7 Billion that the E.U. is accused of using to subsidize Airbus is just about half of the $3.2 Billion that Washington State handed Boeing last year in the form of tax breaks.

Watching the E.U. and the U.S. go at each other like that — “YOU’re the bigger corporate welfare state! No, YOU are!!” — gives me hope. One day maybe Israel and Iran will have the same argument.

In the meantime, Happy Memorial Day. Have a cold one.