People are the Ultimate Resource
28 January 2007
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
To justify preventive medical care, Joseph Ritter correctly points out that "society suffers a great economic loss when one of its productive members dies prematurely" (Letters, Jan. 28). As the late Julian Simon argued, people are "the ultimate resource." The greater the number of persons participating in a market economy, the wealthier are the people of that economy.
So just as we should regret the premature deaths of fellow citizens, we should regret trade and immigration restrictions which artificially limit the ability of men and women from around the world to contribute to our prosperity.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
To justify preventive medical care, Joseph Ritter correctly points out that "society suffers a great economic loss when one of its productive members dies prematurely" (Letters, Jan. 28). As the late Julian Simon argued, people are "the ultimate resource." The greater the number of persons participating in a market economy, the wealthier are the people of that economy.
So just as we should regret the premature deaths of fellow citizens, we should regret trade and immigration restrictions which artificially limit the ability of men and women from around the world to contribute to our prosperity.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Wednesday October 10, 2007 at 3:38pm