As is usually the case whenever he comments on economics, Pat Buchanan gets it all backwards in his latest tantrum against competition (which he calls “free trade”). In a recent article he bellows: “Free trade does to a nation what alcohol does to a man: Saps him first of his vitality and energy, then of his independence, then of his life.” Actually, Pat, it is PROTECTIONISM that does all those things: 1) Being protected from competiton with tariffs or quotas causes the “protected” industry to become lazy and lethargic; why work so hard if there’s no competition? 2) Businesses that … Continue reading Buchanan’s Ass-Backwards Economics