The resistance comes from middle- to low-income workers. They’re especially sensitive to changes in the cost and availability of energy for the simple reason that it affects so many aspects of their lives — from getting to work, especially for those who live in rural areas, to the price of most consumer goods. It’s clear that many ordinary people aren’t willing to pay higher costs just to fulfill the grand visions of central planners.
Jeffrey Tucker celebrates paper towels – and the reasons we Americans use so many of them.
Chris Edwards is rightly critical of Trump’s fiscal imprudence. (Again, if any business person governed his or her company in the way that Trump is governing the United States, he or she would be a case study in what not to do in business.)
Scott Winship calms the hysteria of those who assert that Americans are especially economically immobile. (HT Gonzalo Schwarz)
David Henderson reads Larry Summers.
This argument applies regardless of where the traders live. So when individuals in rich countries trade with individuals in poor countries, that’s mutually beneficial. To the degree that the people in rich countries became rich through trade, they didn’t “take” their wealth from those in poor countries. Both were made better off. Of course the history of international relations has not always been one of trade, and imperialism and other forms of force have certainly mattered. However, over the long run, the adoption of both domestic and global institutions that have facilitated trade explains the gains of wealthy countries far better than alternative explanations.
