It was not a good year from New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. One of the major themes in the election was tightening up trade policy, with the candidates of both major parties promising action in that regard. This has to rankle on a prominent trade evangelist like Friedman. But even worse, the much more strident of the two candidates on trade issues is the one that prevailed. Ouch! He is now lashing out, warning Trump voters that The Donald will abandon them.
It's Halloween! As candy, costumes and parties parse the night, we have our own goblins, ghouls and ghosts haunting economic policy.
Our current trickster is Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, with his keys to the treasury purse via the Congress approved bail out
The United Steelworkers President, Leo W. Gerard, spelled out in a letter how the US taxpayer is being robbed blind. He does not mince words. An excerpt:
I just got back from listening to Thomas Friedman do a lecture about his new book Hot, Flat, and Crowded. I left the lecture with a sense of disgust, but not for the obvious reasons. I'll give TomTom this, at least he's realized that that there limits to growth that at the very least must be overcome. This is a start.
What bothered me the most was they you had an articulate individual. Who I honestly believes wants to be constructive. Recognizing that there is a problem, but presenting an absolutely shitty solution. I left the lecture thinking about one of my childhood friends.
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