Let Them Eat Cake

This administration, which claims to champion working families struggling to make ends meet during hard times, has decided to impose a 35 percent tariff on low-end Chinese tires. The tire workers’ representative, the United Steel Workers, petitioned the government for relief under a provision that protects domestic industries from import “surges.” President Obama, who has [...]

New York Times Skewers "Buy American"

Nothing in the editorial “The Perils of ‘Buy American’” in today’s New York Times will surprise FEE fans, but it’s worth reading. Here’s an excerpt: It’s not surprising that Democrats in Congress could not resist adding a “Buy American” provision to the fiscal stimulus bill earlier this year. It might seem sensible (or at least [...]

Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism

Most people seize on the failure to practice what one preaches as proof of the error of the message preached. This is the logical fallacy known as tu quoque. It is far more often the case, however, that the message is virtuous but virtue is not what the hypocritical preacher truly seeks. Ha-Joon Chang, author [...]

Mr. President, Meet Mr. Smith

Since it’s obviously possible for people to reach the pinnacle of politics without seeming to know much about either economics or Smith, perhaps we’re overdue for a little reminder about both.

Let’s Not Be Energy Independent

“Energy independence” is a term that sounds good but falls apart on closer examination. Although the United States could achieve energy independence, we could do so only at an enormous cost. Energy “dependence” is much cheaper and much more desirable. Before considering the costs and benefits of energy independence, I should define my terms. What [...]

Book Reviews – April 2008

• Globalization by Donald J. Boudreaux Reviewed by Richard M. Ebeling
• Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement by Brian Doherty Reviewed by Bettina Bien Greaves
• Armed America: The Remarkable Story of How and Why Guns Became as American as Apple Pie by Clayton E. Cramer Reviewed by George C. Leef
• The European Economy Since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond by Barry Eichengreen Reviewed by Waldemar Ingdahl

Imports, Exports, and Nonsense

The Commerce Department (whose idea was that?) said recently that 2006 was another record year for the U.S. “trade deficit.” The value of imports beat the value of exports by $764 billion. That makes five record years in a row. China’s trade surplus with us hit $233 billion. Ordinarily, I would ignore this nonstory because, [...]

A Sennholz Sampler

Editor’s Note: Hans Sennholz, a former president and trustee of FEE and long-time chairman of the economics department at Grove City College, died in June at age 85. We honor his memory with three of the many articles he contributed over the years. “Jobs and Trade,” July 1996 Unemployment is the great puzzle of our [...]

The New Sweden

Waldemar Ingdahl is director of Eudoxa, a liberal think tank in Stockholm, Sweden. The European Social Model is being heavily discussed in Europe. Some still laud it, but its problems are obvious, with low economic growth, an aging population coupled with “pay-as-you-go” pension systems, and widespread persisting unemployment. In Sweden we have already solved this [...]