Comments on: On Trade and Currency Manipulation

By: ernelewis

ernelewis — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:11:23 +0000

To those who think the Chinese are buying our debt . . . it just ain’t so. We buy their goods with dollars. They must either spend the dollars to buy goods somewhere, or buy treasuries. They have to buy something or hold it as cash.

By: Aron Martens

Aron Martens — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:26:25 +0000

To Jon Ogden: One fatal flaw in your poker metaphor is that poker is a “zero sum game” whereby one person’s gain is equal to another person’s loss. In contrast, trade is not a zero sume game in that both parties to the transaction gain, otherwise the trade would not occur.

By: Ty

Ty — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 12:33:41 +0000

@SteveK9: So, the Chinese are making a protectionist move by enabling others to buy their products less expensively than they would otherwise be able to?!? Aren’t protectionist policies usually designed to make markets LESS competitive?!?

By: SteveK9

SteveK9 — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:24:31 +0000

Did it ever occur to you that the very strongly ‘protectionist’ government in this scenario is China.

By: Jon Ogden

Jon Ogden — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:07:24 +0000

Once again, the Freeman demonstrates an amazing level of naivety. No matter how much we might wish it wasn’t true, it is possible for an inimical country to sabotage a free market economy by manipulating its own. If four people play poker by the rules, wealth will indeed accrue to the best and brightest player. If they add in a fifth person who cheats constantly, he will rapidly bankrupt them. They have to protect themselves from the cheats, in order to play the game at all.

By: Depression, China, and U.S. Tariff Policy | Economic Thought

Depression, China, and U.S. Tariff Policy | Economic Thought — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:56:53 +0000

[...] Boudreaux, “On Trade and Currency Manipulation” (The [...]

By: Weekly articles « MaddMedic

Weekly articles « MaddMedic — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:33:11 +0000

[...] So who might save us? The Chinese? Maybe, but not by buying out debt. They might be able to pull it off by suppressing the value of their currency. http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/thoughts-on-freedom/on-trade-and-currency-manipulation/# [...]

By: Weekly articles « Stop David Bly and Kevin Dahle

Weekly articles « Stop David Bly and Kevin Dahle — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:32:56 +0000

By: mike gentry

mike gentry — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:59:10 +0000

Thank you for the educational article for us laymen.

By: On Low-Priced Currencies

On Low-Priced Currencies — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:42:09 +0000

[...] Here’s my latest column in The Freeman. In it, I assume (for the sake of argument) that the Beijing government does in fact keep the Chinese yuan undervalued. I then ask if such a policy is one that harms Americans and helps the Chinese people. [...]