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Cato extremists essentially advocate a "no borders" policy on both immigration and trade. Their transnational agenda will serve to undermine our economic self-reliance, national security, and Constitution.

I agree with that assessment as it pertains to these two issues. However, I think in most other areas, the Cato folks are spot-on. Their handbook for Congress is online at http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/handbook107.html.

I find myself being in agreement with them on almost everything. Many, if not most, of their limited government stances are no different than those espoused on FR.

I do disagree with their stance on open borders. This is especially true with our present day welfare state. Where we once had folks coming to America willing to work hard, blend in, and make a better life for their families, now we are overwhelmed with people coming here to sponge off of us while at the same time not wanting to blend in with the rest of us.

As to their free trade stance. IMO, free trade only works when its free on both sides. This is not where we are at. Instead, we are hit with tariffs and all other sorts of fees when we trade with other countries. We should do the smae thing to them. For instance, if a country taxes our goods at 25%, then we do the same for any product that same country brings into the U.S. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander as they say.

This is not where we are at. Instead, we are hit with tariffs and all other sorts of fees when we trade with other countries. We should do the smae thing to them.

I disagree.
IMHO, our tax and trade policies should be based on domestic considerations and not the actions of those peoples and governments who exist outside our Constitutional jurisdiction. I view it as a situation of what we are doing to ourselves rather than what others are doing to us. That's to say: through burdensome and heavy handed government regulation, we have essentially placed much of our own resources economicly off-limits while unilaterally exposing domestic business and industries to foreign competition that is not subject to similar constraints.

Rather than a "carrot and stick" tool of international relations, tariffs should be viewed merely as a revenue source, used to help minimize other forms of domestic taxation. Such a revenue tariff would be applied uniformly to ALL imported goods, regardless of national origin. And a relatively low rate of approximately 10~20% could be adjusted to maximize revenue (neither maximizing nor minimizing trade.) This approach, coupled with the aforementioned tax reductions of other forms of domestic taxation, would return our focus to utilizing our own domestic resources, despite whatever regulations we (as a people) deem it beneficial to impose on such use.