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Let’s (Re)Move those Tariffs!

Here’s a letter to the Chicago Tribune:

Michelle Obama must be crazy angry at her husband!

In a move to win more votes from Florida farmers, Mr. Obama’s administration will end a 16-year-old trade agreement that allows Americans to buy low-priced tomatoes from Mexico (“U.S. groups fear Mexican trade war over Obama tomato move,” Oct. 3).

By artificially forcing up the price of tomatoes – a low-calorie food rich in vitamins and antioxidants – Mr. Obama’s new trade policy might well fatten his vote total.  But his gluttony for votes will also raise Americans’ costs of eating the healthier diets that the First Lady so publicly and passionately insists are vital to our nation’s well-being.

Because Ms. Obama selflessly wishes to improve Americans’ eating habits, I’m sure that she’ll vigorously denounce the greed that prompts her husband to jeopardize our health for his own narrow interests.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA  22030

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