Compensation and the Removal of Trade Protection
Steven Landsburg had an op-ed in the NYTimes today arguing that we have no moral obligation to compensate auto workers (or other people) for the losses they suffer as we reduce trade barriers and subject their output to increased global competition. It is very good. Let me add a few additional points:
- If it's okay to compensate/retrain/etc. auto workers who lose their jobs (more than we compensate/retrain/etc. other workers who lose their jobs for whatever reason), shouldn't we also compensate the stockholders in the auto companies for their losses as well? What about the poor pensioners or widows and orphans who left all their wealth tied up in big-3 auto stock? Don't we care about them?
- How about this: we compensate them now for their losses if they compensate all consumers who at any time in the past suffered losses because they had to pay too much for their cars as a result of US tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers?
Category: Economics, International Trade Posted on
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 1:50pm
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