Quotation of the Day…

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… is from Samuel Gregg’s superb July 2024 paper, “A Free, Prosperous and Secure America”:

As for civilian essentials like medical supplies and food, a free and competitive economy unburdened by tariffs and unimpaired by industrial policy is invariably a more flexible and dynamic economy. This means that different industries can switch quickly to the production of other goods in emergencies. This regularly happens in time of war or national emergencies. The capacity of many American manufacturers to pivot rapidly to the production of medical equipment and supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic is a good example of such resilience.

DBx: A naive yet commonplace presumption is that a country necessarily is more secure the greater are the amounts of ‘critical’ inputs and consumer goods that it produces within its own borders (as opposed to importing these goods). Sam Gregg’s paper – which I highly recommend that you read in full – details several sound and strong reasons to reject this presumption.