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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (25045)	1/18/2004 9:13:28 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793670

LB, Here's another opinion re free trade & Adam Smith: >>Further analysis of the economy during the depression years reveals that nearly two-thirds of the drop in imports between 1929 and 1933 occurred prior to the Smoot-Hawley tariff. Free traders also like to point to the writings of Adam Smith, author of "The Wealth of Nations," whose work expressed his theories on international trade in 1776. But Smith emerges as a protectionist when one reads the following quote from his book: "Every individual endeavors to employ his capital as near home as he can, and consequently as much as he can in support of domestic industry." In summary, just as then, we continue now to fail to recognize the dilemma that sits before us by ignoring the wisdom of the founding fathers. We are on another unsustainable path now as we were then, but we have refused to learn from history. However, this time, when it becomes obvious that the path we are on is unsustainable, America will not be able to blame a policy of domestic protection. Free trade and free-running global commerce will be the undeniable culprit. I remain confident that America will someday have no choice but to return to a policy of protection for domestic industries. It is sad to also believe it will take a national or global economic crisis for U.S. Government to wake up and confront this issue.<< Roger Simmermaker, author of "How Americans Can Buy American"