Corporate welfare and conservative credibility

The Export-Import Bank is a federal agency that exists to subsidize U.S. exporters at taxpayer risk, with most of the money subsidizing one company, Boeing. I’ve been criticizing Ex-Im in print since 2001, and every time the agency comes up for renewal, a handful of conservative lawmakers vote to kill it.

Ex-Im is up for renewal again this year, and many free-market types are calling for its abolition, including Sallie James at Cato, and the Club for Growth. Defenders of Ex-Im are almost entirely industry lobbies like the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, rather than conservatives.