Friday, November 17, 2006
Right for the wrong reasons
The Washington Post today has an editorial that correctly calls on Congress to do the right thing regarding international trade: U.S. Economic Leadership.
“The world's trading system has been progressively opened since 1945, largely thanks to U.S. leadership. This has been one of the great achievements of the American era…”
It would seem the Post was in danger of making economic sense but there was method to their madness: they manage to come off as economic illiterates in doing so.
“Because the expansion of trade has coincided with a rise in inequality, many American voters are understandably skeptical of its benefits. But the Democrats must respond to that concern by implementing tax and spending policies that distribute prosperity more evenly, not by abandoning the nation's role as the chief driver of trade liberalization.”
Yep, the value of international trade can best seen in its potential to allow the Democrats to implement “tax and spending policies that distribute prosperity more evenly”…sigh, Milton, we could use a few more years from you.
Side Note: Washington Post writer Steven Pearlstein also has a piece on Mr. Friedman in today’s paper: Friedman Debunked the Gospel of Keynes
He opens thusly:
“One thing that baffles those of us with no training in economics is that two people who hold diametrically opposite views can both be held out as giants of their profession.”
”no training in economics” …this is the business columnist for the Washington Post (and this educational background also explains many of his columns).
“The world's trading system has been progressively opened since 1945, largely thanks to U.S. leadership. This has been one of the great achievements of the American era…”
It would seem the Post was in danger of making economic sense but there was method to their madness: they manage to come off as economic illiterates in doing so.
“Because the expansion of trade has coincided with a rise in inequality, many American voters are understandably skeptical of its benefits. But the Democrats must respond to that concern by implementing tax and spending policies that distribute prosperity more evenly, not by abandoning the nation's role as the chief driver of trade liberalization.”
Yep, the value of international trade can best seen in its potential to allow the Democrats to implement “tax and spending policies that distribute prosperity more evenly”…sigh, Milton, we could use a few more years from you.
Side Note: Washington Post writer Steven Pearlstein also has a piece on Mr. Friedman in today’s paper: Friedman Debunked the Gospel of Keynes
He opens thusly:
“One thing that baffles those of us with no training in economics is that two people who hold diametrically opposite views can both be held out as giants of their profession.”
”no training in economics” …this is the business columnist for the Washington Post (and this educational background also explains many of his columns).
