Flexible Lou
30 May 2007
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
David Leonhardt says correctly that Lou Dobbs "has a somewhat flexible relationship with reality" ("Truth, Fiction, and Lou Dobbs," May 30). Not only does the ostentatiously populist Mr. Dobbs misconstrue the reality of immigration, he's equally fanciful on matters of trade. In his 2004 book "Exporting America" Dobbs asserts that international trade is beneficial only when it is "balanced" - that is, produces no trade deficits - and then assures his readers that Adam Smith would agree with him.
Funny, that. In The Wealth of Nations Smith observed that "Nothing, however, can be more absurd than this whole doctrine of the balance of trade."
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:
David Leonhardt says correctly that Lou Dobbs "has a somewhat flexible relationship with reality" ("Truth, Fiction, and Lou Dobbs," May 30). Not only does the ostentatiously populist Mr. Dobbs misconstrue the reality of immigration, he's equally fanciful on matters of trade. In his 2004 book "Exporting America" Dobbs asserts that international trade is beneficial only when it is "balanced" - that is, produces no trade deficits - and then assures his readers that Adam Smith would agree with him.
Funny, that. In The Wealth of Nations Smith observed that "Nothing, however, can be more absurd than this whole doctrine of the balance of trade."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Thursday January 17, 2008 at 4:42pm