1,028 Economists Oppose Protectionist Policies
From the Club for Growth:
In 1930, Congress passed and President Hoover signed into law the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. At the time, this protectionist measure was vigorously opposed by 1,028 of the nation’s top economists. They rightly predicted the tariffs would devastate the economy. And, in fact, the country subsequently plunged into the Great Depression.
Now some in Congress are considering ways to enact similar protectionist policies against China. Once again, 1,028 of America’s top economists, from all 50 states and top universities, have signed the following petition sponsored by the Club for Growth in opposition to protectionist policies against China. In addition to many other prominent and well-respected economists, signatories include Nobel Laureates Finn Kydland, Edward Prescott, Thomas Schelling, and Vernon Smith.
Club president Pat Toomey explains the petition in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal here. Read the petition and see who signed it here. The list of signatories includes Hillsdale’s Gary Wolfram and six professors from SJSU (Brendt, Hummel, Lopez, Means, Ortega, and Stringham).
on August 1st, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I’m actually glad that Pat Toomey lost the primary to Specter, because he’s so much more influential outside of Congress than inside. What a guy.