Thursday, June 28, 2007

Interesting article here on protectionism. Something to think about. I think it is worthwhile to consider how local economies might benefit from such policies. So many countries these days struggle with unemployment due to not having infrastructure and trained labor to compete globally. A trade of inefficient production for increased (and more varied) employment might very well be a good idea. In any event, probably the US and other big players probably should not be bullying against some of the milder tarrifs.

2 comments:

Mark said...

Ugh. And who is to say how many people we hurt by our protectionism back in the 1800s? Maybe the whole world would be more prosperous.

I just can't deal with this. The tarrif in the US was directly oppressive to the South, leading to seething resentment and a bloody war. This all seems a textbook case of Henry Hazlitt's "broken window" story--or the economist who said that Katrina would cause an economic boom because of the business of rebuilding.

Kiambogo said...

I am with Mark on this-----free trade. Tariffs hurt people.