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Showing posts from December, 2018

President Trump Elicits Question: With Trade, Does End Justify Means?

The free market, a godsend that pulled humanity out of poverty, works best when it is not toyed with by government. Understanding this reality, I have been skeptical of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese raw products and manufactures, and in June, I penned an opinion editorial to this effect . Presidents Donald Trump & Xi Jinping Then, I wrote, "Donald Trump isn't intending to punish China or push them into accepting a new trade regime. Instead, the president wants to use protectionism as a vehicle for 'protecting' American industry, an old mercantilist concept that has been devalued as junk economic theory." I remain steadfastly committed to my point that tariffs are a dumb mechanism for rectifying a trade imbalance or expanding job opportunities in the U.S. However, since June, the president has demonstrated that his rounds of tariffs on China and other trading partners are not solely a protectionist vehicle, as I initially charged. F

In Memoriam: President George H.W. Bush (1924-2018)

George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, passed away Friday at age 94. Bush will be remembered for his successes as the nation's chief executive, which included overseeing the collapse of Soviet Communism and securing an impressive victory in the Gulf War of 1990-1991, as well as his personal humility, nobility, and commitment to public service. George H.W. Bush (Bloomberg) Bush -- a Navy lieutenant during World War II -- was a member of the Greatest Generation, and for today's America, he was a man of a different era altogether. When Bush won, it was with humility; when he lost, it was with dignity; and when the "other side" delivered for America, he saw it as a success for his country rather than a failure for his camp. For evidence, one simply needs to look at Bush's 1993 letter to former President Bill Clinton, who defeated Bush in the 1992 election: Bush, who played his cards right but los