From China, his company takes online orders in 17 languages for all kinds of customized garments and gadgets, fulfills them in Chinese factories, and ships the goods direct to consumers worldwide.

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For most of the past 65 years, federal, state, and local governments had a larger direct economic role producing goods and services than they do today.

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The same logic applies to public subsidies for any good or service where producers enjoy significant monopoly power: Direct provision of public goods has market forces on its side, while subsidies for private purchases work against the market.

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