Alan Tonelson
Essay
Jul/Aug
1994
Laissez-faire economists contend that trade barriers make domestic industries lazy, fat and greedy. But five U.S. industries afforded import relief, automotive, steel, machine tools, semiconductors and textiles, have dramatically improved productivity, boosted R&D and recaptured market share. Free trade champions who plead the case of the purportedly forgotten consumer ignore the benefits of import relief such as savings on retraining dislocated workers. Government can intelligently structure policies to give threatened industries a second chance.
Essay
Summer
1993
America's leaders still cling to a superpower role. President Clinton himself has paid at least rhetorical support to spearheading a democratic world order. But his administration's proposed defense budget would strip the nation of the power needed to carry out those ambitions. A mismatch of financial means and political ends looms on the nation's horizon. The way to close the gap is not to build up defense, but to build down U.S. foreign policy goals.
