Market Correction

9 November 2006

Editor, The New York Post

To the Editor:

Re "W Hears the Voters" (Nov. 9):

Within hours of the GOP's 1994 takeover of the House and Senate, then-Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) proclaimed the lesson of that election to have been "about freedom."

Turns out that, especially since 2000, it was more about power and pork.

Those of us who fear concentrated power should look not to a political party to protect our liberties but, rather, to divided government and glorious gridlock.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University

8 November 2006

Editor, Slate

Dear Editor:

Re "The Lou Dobbs Democrats" (Nov. 8):

Many newly elected Democrats oppose both war and free trade. They should avoid this inconsistency.

Research - especially by Solomon Polachek - finds that trade promotes peace. Commerce unites people economically (it's bad for the bottom line to kill your customers) and culturally (trade with foreigners demands that you better understand them and that they better understand you).

To the extent that Senator-elect Sherrod Brown and other "Lou Dobbs Democrats" manage to isolate Americans from foreign commerce they will not only make us poorer, they also will increase our chances in the future of waging senseless and gruesome wars.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University

8 November 2006

Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071

Dear Editor:

General Motors' chief economist complains that an allegedly undervalued yen gives Toyota "a $3,000 advantage on small cars and $9,000 on Lexus luxury cars" ("Toyota's Global Profit Surges," Nov. 8). GM's economist is mistaken.

If the yen is undervalued, the advantage goes chiefly to American consumers. An undervalued yen enables these consumers to buy cars for thousands of dollars less they would otherwise have to pay. GM whines, of course, but American consumers should applaud all the way to the bank.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University

7 November 2006

Editor, The Boston Globe

Dear Editor:

Jeff Robertson's view of the U.S. Constitution is too government-centric ("You the people of the United States...," Nov. 7). The framers' aim "to form a more perfect union" went far beyond substituting popular rule for royal rule in matters of government. Their chief goal was to create a government sufficiently strong to perform well-defined but limited tasks while, at the same time, keeping the powers of that government in check so that ordinary people could go about their daily lives without interference from the state. The vibrant commerce and community that would emerge from this freedom from politics would be a union stronger and more real than anything that politicians and political involvement could create.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University

6 November 2006

Editor, The Baltimore Sun

Dear Editor:

Your lead editorial today correctly notes that China's "booming economy" has lifted 43 million people in that country out of hunger ("On the table," Nov. 6). This boom, of course, is driven by China's move toward free markets and its integration into the global economy.

But also in today's edition, Cynthia Tucker calls globalization "a force more insidious" than terrorism ("Lack of economic security is no less a threat than terrorism," Nov. 6). Does she really believe what she writes? Does she really believe that peaceful commerce with persons in other countries is more insidious than murdering and maiming innocent people? Does she really believe that foreigners who offer to sell televisions and textiles to us are more insidious than those who take our lives and destroy our property?

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University