Great nations are not normally in the habit of allowing childish temper tantrums to dictate economic policy. Great nations are even less inclined to sacrifice an excellent economic deal because of a temper tantrum. And yet, when we examine the frantic and immature back-and-forth regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership Act, we see that the United States–a great nation despite the example often set by its “leaders”–has been flirting over the past twenty-four hours with the option of throwing away an excellent economic deal with both hands, in part because trade protectionists have gotten their feelings hurt. I alluded to this issue…
Pejman Yousefzadeh
Pejman Yousefzadeh
Scribbling, scribbling, scribbling on the Internet.
Tagged Protectionists
So Much for Expecting Enlightenment on Trade Policy
I had harbored some hope that politicians would behave like adults when it came to addressing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. As noted in my previous post, the benefits of free trade are clear and overwhelming, the American public appears more ready to accept and support trade deals, and there is bipartisan cooperation between congressional Republicans and the Obama administration to ensure that the president will have fast-track authority with which to push through a trade deal. Unfortunately, those congressional Democrats decided to stand in the way by “voting to hold up consideration of ‘fast track’ trade authority unless related measures are…
Remember: Free Trade Is a Good Thing
From a policy perspective, there doesn’t seem to be much going on that is good these days, so I suppose that when we actually do find good news, we ought to highlight it. That is what I am trying to do in this post about free trade.
Uber and UberX Help People Get Jobs
Here is the story. And here is the part where I ask (again) why it is that so many protectionists are willing to try to sabotage Uber and UberX, and by extension, sabotage the lives of those who depend on Uber and UberX to put food on the table and a roof over their heads and the heads of their loved ones.
