Continuing on the valuable discussion over trade, I certainly agree with Donald Wilkie that government regulations are stifling economic growth, as I've noted before.  And my previous writings on the explosion in the size of government as a percentage of the American economy since the 1930s are also consistent with the view that rising statist influences over the past 85 years are doing massive damage. This in no way lets trade off the hook, particularly when it comes to simply erroneous claims that "we got rich as a country through trade."  The data since 1960 are unequivocally clear.  More trade correlates with lower economic growth in the United States.  That isn't to say that there are not many other factors that have contributed to this problem, but there is absolutely no evidence during the past half-century that America "got rich as a country through trade," nor that it is getting richer via more trade. Arguments that...(Read Full Post)