When Protecting Jobs Only Destroys Them

http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/economist/5319 ^ | Wednesday, June 7, 2006 | Charles Wheelan

[1rudeboy]

By all means, we should avoid any small positive effects on our economy, and hold out for the large ones. /sarc

[nopardons]

Well, even at only a few posts, it is still full of quite amusing replies. :-)

[nopardons]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm...would it be "flattery", if I stated the simple truth that you always add a great deal to any thread you're on and that I always enjoy reading your replies on threads concerning financial matters? I think not and there's the rub. Unlike the smarmy remark, what I've just said is neither flattery nor something to stop you from posting a more salient reply; just a factual representation of my opinion. :-)

[expat_panama]

Yesterday while we were having this exchange I was in the middle of sending a nastygram to Protagoras only to find out right afterward that I'd misread what was going on.   Now, I like to but heads with others as much as the next guy; but something I think I learned yesterday is that my claim to intellectual honest rests on my willingness to defend/praise/encourage as often as I attack/deride/belittle.

Of course, it's also possible that intellectual honesty ain't all it's cracked up to be...

[Protagoras]

It's no fun playing "nice nice".

:^}

[dirtboy]

First this: And Ross Perot enlivened the 1992 presidential election with his prediction that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would cause a "giant sucking sound" as jobs fled the U.S. for Mexico.

And then this: Ten years of data have confirmed what economists predicted at the time -- NAFTA gave a large boost to the Mexican economy and had a small positive effect on the U.S. economy.

Perot didn't say "economy" - he said "jobs". What impact has NAFTA had on the impacted jobs in this country?

[BenLurkin]

NAFTA was an abject failure in at least one important aspect.

Mexicans are still racing up here to take American jobs.

[1rudeboy]

You might have missed this while on vacation.