1,028 leading economists have taken out an ad in the Wall Street Journal to oppose anti-China trade protectionism now before Congress. They style their effort as a reprise of the 1930 petition sent by a similar number of economists to President Herbert Hoover urging him to veto the Smoot-Hawley Tariff bill, which he went on to sign anyway.
Not too long ago, a huge number of economists signed a list advocating passage of the Minimum-Wage hike then before Congress (they passed it, and the minimum wage is higher now).
So, what’s with these long lists of economists, anyway? Their scores so far: Smoot-Hawley: lost; Minimum Wage: won; China — not yet decided. I guess I’m on their side THIS time.
