On the Adventures of BATman

That would be Paul Ryan, who keeps pushing his border adjustment tax even though he has been told repeatedly that it can’t pass either the House or the Senate.  Why?

There are three potential reasons:

1. He thinks it is the best way to head off more damaging protectionist measures;
2. He genuinely believes that, leaving political concerns aside, it is good for American business; or
3. He truly believes that some reasonable attempt should be made to keep the massive corporate tax cut that is coming revenue-neutral.

I’m agnostic on the merits of BAT.  For once, however, all of these explanations do some credit to the king of the magic asterisk.  In today’s environment, that means BAT is doomed;  if you don’t believe it, just keep your eye on the progress of AHCA, the product of unvarnished legislative cynicism.