Tag Archives

Archive of posts published in the tag: Trade

Winning the Race to the Bottom

“Being poor is the worst kind of competitive advantage to have, and only two kinds of people pursue that advantage as a matter of national policy. “

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The Uncertainty Tax and Friction Costs

Trump maybe correct in recognizing China’s destructive trade policies, but he is wrong to think that alone justifies a trade war.  He is wrong to think that Twitter is an acceptable negotiation platform, and he is wrong to think that he is the only national leader with stubborn pride.  Xi does not face an election in 2020 and has the political advantage of waiting him out, even if there are in a weaker economic position.

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Zero Interest rates challenge our economic assumptions

There is a mismatch between countries with stable financial structures and countries with great growth opportunities. Emerging nations have more room to grow but business owners in third world and some second world countries prefer to hold their cash in more stable economies increasing the supply of cash.

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The Fatal Conceit of a Trade War

“China targeted pistachios to inflict pain in a region where Republicans are politically vulnerable. About 99% of American pistachios are grown in California’s San Joaquin Valley, home of GOP Reps. David Valadao, Jeff Denham and Devin Nunes.”

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Bastiat and Trump

When Mnuchin claims that the steel and aluminum tariffs will only add a few cents to a beer can or a few dollars to an auto he displays as much ignorance as Nancy Pelosi who contends that a raise of only $20 a week is crumbs.  It is the classic broken window fallacy of Bastiat, the inability to understand and acknowledge what is unseen.

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Trump Builds only Half a Bridge

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has expressed approval for a weaker dollar.  Trump is promising higher tariffs.  These moves threaten to undo the benefits of his work on tax cuts and regulations.

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The Hong Kong Experiment

He avoided the accumulation of economic data, believing the cost of accumulating outweighed its value. He felt such data was used to enable economic planning which he opposed, and because it instilled a false sense of certainty about outcomes.  Cowperthwaite governed from principles, not data.

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Benign Neglect

Kevin Williamson at National Review- “A great deal of what’s best about the modern world is the result of nerds messing around in their garages: Google, the modern automobile business, rock ’n’ roll. Thank goodness nobody took it seriously enough to try to regulate it, manage it, and direct it — which would only have deformed it.”

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Trump’s Trade Ignorance

from Thomas Donlan at Barron’s, Ignorance is Not Bliss Our trade deficit—the amount that imports exceed exports—with Germany last year was about $65 billion, or some 13% of the U.S. total 2016 trade deficit. It’s big because Germany is a big

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Turning Corn into Cars

from Kevin Williamson in National Review, The Social Machine: Consider another kind of machine, a more limited one: Bryan Caplan’s magical idea for a machine that turns corn into cars: “Lo and behold — corn goes in, and cars come out.”

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The Protectionist Fallacy

from National Review, Who Will Protect Americans from the Protectionists? by George Will The tiny print on the back of iPhones accurately says they are “assembled,” not manufactured, in China. The American Enterprise Institute’s James Pethokoukis notes that parts come

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Benign and Intolerable Job Destruction

from National Review, Who Will Protect Americans from the Protectionists? by George Will Today’s Republican administration promises protection against the destruction of American jobs by the Chinese, Mexicans, and other foreigners. The really prolific destroyers are: Americans. As Reason’s John Tamny says,

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Focus on Growth not Trade Balance

From the Wall Street Journal Editorials,  About That Obama Boom: A closing word to Trumpians who will point to the fourth-quarter decline in net exports that subtracted 1.7% from GDP. Part of the explanation is that a bumper crop of soybean

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Five Things I Like About Trump (and Five Things I Don’t)

Five things I like about Trump He will hold media accountable.  For too long they have been able to mislead intentionally with no pushback. He comprehends that the inequality in power is a greater problem than the inequality in wealth.

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Progress and Pain

from the WSJ Notable and Quotable: The Human Side of Trade by Russ Roberts Suppose a scientist invents a pill that once you take it lets you live until 120 with no health issues whatsoever. Once you turn 120, you

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Better Economic Policy Trumps Grandstanding Deals

Trump’s political victory in keeping Carrier and Ford plants from moving out of the country should not be confused with an economic victory. Trade is a critical component of any economy, but we are addressing the location of a plant. 

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Best Rebel Yid 2016 – First Six Months

These are some of the best articles that stood out to me so far this year- and a few of mine . America Doesn’t Have a Gun Problem; It Has a Democrat Problem from Sultan Knish Chicago’s murder rate of 15.09

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Protecting Jobs vs Protecting Votes

From Barron’s and  Thomas Donlan,  Trading Promises About the Trans-Pacific Partnership-Politicians are the threat to rising incomes and global prosperity. The AFL-CIO and much of the Democratic Party at large (though thankfully not the White House) are working their way

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Trump’s Dangerous Trade Policy

What Trump Doesn’t Understand — It’s a Lot — about Our Trade Deficit with China by Kevin Williamson at National Review Our trade deficit with China isn’t a product of the Chinese getting rich — it’s a product of their

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Obama’s Spoons

Kevin Williamson writes Obama Does Not Know What ‘Outsourcing’ Means in The National Review Online, 6/26/12 Excerpts: What’s interesting about this controversy to me is the naked xenophobia of the Left on display alongside the amusing ignorance. Liberals love a

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