Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and all around internet impresario, has a new column up at Bloomberg on his recent rereading of the Book of Genesis,

Living standards rise throughout the book, and by the end we see the marvels of Egyptiancivilization, as experienced and advised by Joseph. The Egyptians have advanced markets in grain, and the logistical and administrative capacities to store grain for up to seven years, helping them to e famine risk (for purposes of contrast, the U.S. federal government routinely loses track ofassets,weapons, and immigrantchildren). It is a society of advanced infrastructure, with governance sophisticated enough to support a 20 percent tax rate (Joseph instructs the pharaoh not to raise it higher). Note that in modern America federal spending typically has run justbelow20 percent since the mid-1950s.

Please do read the whole thing.