Consequences of the New Populists
November 28, 2006

With the Democrats back in power, Clinton's free-trade economic philosophy (called "Rubinomics" after Clinton's Treasury secretary, Robert E. Rubin) is being replaced by a populist approach that favors more government regulation in all economic areas, and less free trade in order to "protect" U.S. workers and more "evenly" distribute wealth. So says Louis Uchitelle, writing in The New York Times.

There is a very big cost in restricting trade (the cost of inefficiency), and all economic costs are paid by the same people: the workers. If the new populists succeed in passing laws and policies that attempt to make things more fair, just about everything will gradually become more expensive ... and every working stiff, rich or poor, will pay his share.

To support the new populist agendas, unions have come together as a group that calls itself Shared Prosperity, while political allies are grouping under something called the Hamilton Project. One policy that I don't think will have much cost is the raising of the minimum wage. It will redistribute money where it can be redistributed and, at worst, it will kill small businesses that are not viable anyway.

posted by M. Masterson @ 9:20 AM,

1 Comments:

At 1:38 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please--call this what it is: SOCIALISM.

 

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