Labor

Amity Shlaes' The Forgotten Man is a useful antidote for those whose knowledge of the Great Depression comes from textbooks that lionize Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and paper over his serious policy errors.

With the EU's addition of ten new members and a likely slowdown in U.S. productivity growth, Europe has a chance to overtake the U.S. economy. To actually do so, however, it must boost its competitiveness with some much-needed reforms.

According to the election-year bluster of politicians and pundits, the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries has become a problem of epic proportion. Fortunately, this alarmism is misguided. Outsourcing actually brings far more benefits than costs, both now and in the long run. If its critics succeed in provoking a new wave of American protectionism, the consequences will be disastrous -- for the U.S. economy and for the American workers they claim to defend.

Brussels has delayed a decision on whether to admit Turkey to the EU. This caution is wise: it may aggravate the Turks, but no one really knows what consequences accession would bring, and Turkey has yet to achieve Europe's economic standards. History suggests that open borders would bring a flood of Turks northward looking for better jobs--a negative development for all the countries involved.