Protectionists Last Stand

The WSJ has a distressing editorial outlining the heating up of trade tensions between the US and China. The most frustrating thing about this stupidity is that it comes as the worst of the protectionists in Congress are diminished in their authority to speak for the American people, are on their way out save the formality of an election, but ratcheting up the protectionist rhetoric and policy nonetheless. These damaging trade moves come as the people they represent are about ready repudiate their leadership.

The editorial ends with this tidbit: "We're blithely told that a full-scale trade war a la the 1930s can't break out again because everyone knows better. But that's what we were told about the other lessons of Depression economics, and our leaders have already remade nearly every one of those mistakes." Hmmm. Sounds alot like this (more here).