Jump To » Mobile / Confirm Them / Right Shelf / Sports / State Blogs / About / Contact / Help / Posting Rules / Conservative Book Club / Human Events
Thank Heavens For Congressional Ineffectiveness
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Economy — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Juan Carlos Hidalgo explains why. Incidentally, I find it amusing that Congressional leaders can be so cynical as to try to argue that Costa Ricans could enjoy the benefits of free trade while at the same time, voting against the codification of those benefits in a trade agreement. Kudos to the Costa Ricans for rejecting this ham-handed "deal" but it really didn't take much to see through the scam, now did it?
« Rethinking the Goals of a National Mortgage Bailout — Comments (45) | Exceedingly Good Economic News — Comments (11) »
Thank Heavens For Congressional Ineffectiveness 2 Comments (0 topical, 2 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Mart Laars of Estonia. At age 32 Mart was elected PM of Estonia in 1992. His argument for free trade
I think that was … one part of our economic reforms, in 1992 we abolished all custom taxes, making Estonia a free trade area. A lot of managers from the former Soviet factories came to me and said that I would destroy Estonian industry. I said it must be a very weak and uncompetitive industry which needs to be destroyed. I think this is such a perception in the minds of politicians that, they know what is competitive industry and business doesn’t know. It is not true. I think the task of the government is to create in your country the competitive industries which are really competitive, and free competition is the best source to do this. Estonia has been an excellent example of how this kind of competition makes the economy stronger. Countries around us who have used different strategies have gotten significantly smaller growth and less prosperity than countries that have opened themselves and moved to free trade. Competition decides which industries are efficient and which are not, so you have the industries that really can compete all over the world.
Now there's no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.
Did any of our own illustrious members stand up on the Senate floor to call Sherrod Brown on his attempt to sound like a free-trader?
Did any of them respond by saying that Costa Ricans are not well-served by rejecting a deal that even the naysayers say would lead to cheaper products?
Free-trade is good. It means lower prices for all consumers. The proponents of free-trade need to consistently and loudly inform citizens that protectionists are not looking to make their lives better. Protectionism is not about protecting the average consumer - it is about protecting certain people in the short-term at the expense of others. It is about politicians deciding that certain people are more deserving than others. And in the debate of today, that usually means union employees getting protection because their union leaders are willing to "invest" in Democrats.