Free Trade And Its Effects On The Economy
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Economic Antediluvianism | Economy | Free Trade | Protectionism — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
While it is fashionable to say that free trade policies are responsible for just about every negative thing that is currently going on with the economy--not to mention also being responsible for the reason certain adolescents are unable to get dates for the prom--the facts tell us something different. I have said before and will say again that while there is no economic silver bullet, free trade is as close to a silver bullet as anything there is. That we are turning our backs on a policy that has brought us a tremendous amount of prosperity with very little attendant cost is nothing short of bizarre and appalling.
I still dream of a world where bloggers don't have to constantly bring this sort of thing up and where the mainstream media will take the lead in challenging--and calling on the carpet--candidates who trash free trade and all of the good that it does just to get votes. I keep hearing that this is supposed to be a tremendously important election. Someone will have to explain to me, therefore, why it is that the mainstream press seems all too willing to allow candidates in this tremendously important election to demagogue a tremendously important issue. Are journalists too incompetent to challenge people like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama when they rabble-rouse on the issue of free trade? Or are they just not courageous enough to act on what they know to be true?
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I will say that it is impressive that almost every major newspaper editorial board endorsed free trade. The NYT has backpedaled a little to a "with certain health/safety provisions" stance. But the WaPo, LA Times, Chi Trib, WSJ, USA Today, and all of the other top 10 by circulation are supporters of free trade.
Good on them for that. Maybe it's a foot in the door. A guy can hope, right?
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but then cover economic dislocation stories in an extremely myopic and non-contextual manner, building up resentment for free trade. Never confuse the MSM's editorial function with its "news coverage" function.
The media is still the biggest asset in the arsenal of those who oppose free trade.
Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone. --Mitt Romney
In a year of economic decline the ruling party, true to their political instincts, pushes through a tax increase and a protectionist trade bill. Both measures to satisfy the party base; more taxes to shortstop a deficit and the trade bill to satisfy an increasingly isolationist country. Circa 1929-1933.
The Republicans were the party in power then. A very different Republican party.
That was then and this is now. Which of the Democrats will most effectively emulate Hoover and turn an economic downturn into a full blown depression?
The great depression was triggered by Germany defaulting on it's war debt and the weakening of American Banks who had been cajoled by the US government to underwrite a lot of this debt.
So element one was Government intrusion in the market
elements two and three were tariff and taxes.
element four was increased government regulation (at precisely the wrong time)
and the fifth element was a restrictive monetary policy by the Fed.
It was a perfect storm of stupidity, And yes, most people have not learned a damn thing from it.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
1, 2, 3 and 4 were all government intrusion in markets. 5 is a quasi-government agency. Hmmm, maybe we should start getting people to realize that government intervention isn't always a good thing.
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In his day Adam Smith had to fight off the protectionists. Yet they came back. Like liberty eternal vigilance is the price for free trade.
Disclaimer: I used to work for Friends of Fred Thompson, Inc.
they will always reappear in various forms. Because the desire to force others to do your will is a powerful drive in human beings.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
yet we again hear talk of unilaterally withdrawing from a free trade agreement with our top two energy suppliers.
We're supposed to believe what we're told about such things as nuclear winter and anthropogenic global warming from computer models, yet for all the Democrats in the IT industry, none has offered any simulation of Democrat trade and energy policies.
The press is liberal, which means their understanding of economics is formed entirely based on sob stories rather than any economic theory or science.