Parents had better put the kids to bed early this week. Otherwise, youngsters might happen across C-SPAN in time to watch the United States Senate and House of Representatives cast their most damaging votes ever against children's health. Armed with faulty data on the status of children's health coverage, Congress is set to spend $16 billion or more over the next five years to create a new federal "Kiddycare" program. While claiming to provide health coverage for children, Kiddycare will actually waste billions of dollars, and provide no health benefit to children.

The federal sugar program fixes the price of sugar bought in the United States at roughly double the world price, costing consumers 1.4 billion dollars a year.1 Yet, program supporters claim the program does not hurt Americans, pointing to the small budget cost to the taxpayer. The distinction between a taxpayer and a consumer is a curious one -- since the two cannot be distinguished at the checkout line. In fact, consumers are hit twice by the program. First, with higher taxes -- regardless of how "small" the burden is -- and second through higher prices for the food they purchase.

Members of Congress will soon be asked to vote on the unconditional extension of China's most-favored-nation (MFN) trading status for one more year. Legitimate reasons for concern over various policies implemented by the Chinese government do exist. However, revoking China's MFN trading status is at best the least effective -- and at worst the most counter-productive -- manner in which to affect those policies. It would be devastating for both Americans and the Chinese if Congress imposes trade barriers between the citizens of these two countries.

The promise shown by the emergence of electronic commerce has attracted some undesirable attention - taxes. States and localities have recently been examining an extension of their tax authority to Internet related activities. The result could be a maze of multiple taxation that stymies emerging commercial activity.