Robert B. Reich

The US economy faces an investment crisis which cannot be addressed by frugality of tax rises and budget cuts or by protectionist blaming of foreigners. Proposes to encourage personal savings at the expense of consumption, and collective investment in social infrastructure.

The United States is now engaged in a divisive debate over international trade. On one side are disciples of the principle of free trade--the touchstone of American trade policy in the postwar era. Free traders argue that the interests of the United States, and of the world, continue to lie in reducing barriers, subsidies and other government interventions which distort the natural pattern of specialization and trade among countries. On the other side are those calling for policies to protect American industry from foreign competition. Protectionists argue that imports are causing massive unemployment and eroding the nation's industrial base.