Paulson Makes Important Stand on Free Trade
Here what I said about the nomination of Henry Paulson as Treasury Secretary (full post):
"[Bush] need[s] a genuine policy stud to keep the economy on solid footing as long as possible. That means, principally, debunking and demolishing the numerous bad policy ideas that are fomenting around DC these days from windfall profits taxes to price gouging legislation to trade protectionism."
I had in mind the disastrously protectionist tariff proposals that Sausage Factory goofballs Schumer (NY) and Graham (SC) have been threatening.
Well, this is from the WSJ front page today:
"In an interview ahead of a speech today and a trip to China next week, Mr. Paulson observed that to those who fear competition China has become "a symbol of a threat posed by globalization." But, he said, "if China doesn't do well, that hurts us rather than helping us."
and this:
"Both in China and in the United States we must not allow ourselves to be captured by harmful political rhetoric or those who engage in demagoguery," Mr. Paulson plans to say in today's speech. "Instead we must realize that the U.S.-Chinese relationship is truly generational and demands a long-term strategic economic engagement."
This is great to see. The number one risk to the current economic expansion is bad policy. Not oil, not housing, not that MSM hobgoblin known as the trade deficit. The big thing that will screw up the health of the economy and our steadily increasing standard of living is a boneheaded, interventionist move by our politicians. It is great to have a man of Paulson's stature actively preempting such a development.
"[Bush] need[s] a genuine policy stud to keep the economy on solid footing as long as possible. That means, principally, debunking and demolishing the numerous bad policy ideas that are fomenting around DC these days from windfall profits taxes to price gouging legislation to trade protectionism."
I had in mind the disastrously protectionist tariff proposals that Sausage Factory goofballs Schumer (NY) and Graham (SC) have been threatening.
Well, this is from the WSJ front page today:
"In an interview ahead of a speech today and a trip to China next week, Mr. Paulson observed that to those who fear competition China has become "a symbol of a threat posed by globalization." But, he said, "if China doesn't do well, that hurts us rather than helping us."
and this:
"Both in China and in the United States we must not allow ourselves to be captured by harmful political rhetoric or those who engage in demagoguery," Mr. Paulson plans to say in today's speech. "Instead we must realize that the U.S.-Chinese relationship is truly generational and demands a long-term strategic economic engagement."
This is great to see. The number one risk to the current economic expansion is bad policy. Not oil, not housing, not that MSM hobgoblin known as the trade deficit. The big thing that will screw up the health of the economy and our steadily increasing standard of living is a boneheaded, interventionist move by our politicians. It is great to have a man of Paulson's stature actively preempting such a development.
posted by Donny Baseball at 10:49 AM
2 Comments:
So how come Snow couldn't get it done? Snow clearly understands good economics and policies. Also, has Paulson said anything new? It seems to me that he is just repeating what Snow had been saying all along.
Snow's purpose in life was to 1) argue for, 2) defend, and 3) ballyhoo the remarkable results of the 2003 tax cuts. The protectionist urge arose rather late into Snow's tenure and probably just wasn't high on his priority list, especially as he was kind of winding down his stint at Treasury.
Paulson has also made recent noises about a strong dollar policy. I think Paulson will be basically saying the same things as Snow just saying things in different ways and/or in different order.
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