Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking with the Cato Institute’s Dan Griswold about his new book, Mad About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization.
It’s a fantastic book, so I hope after you listen to the interview you’ll go out and buy it. Here’s one of my favorite quotes (p. 123):
For a nation, free trade is like fresh air and exercise. It can be uncomfortable at first as the body adjusts to the new regime. We breathe hard, we sweat, and our muscles ache. But soon our aerobic capacity expands, and we discover that we can run faster and farther, we can lift more weight, and we can more quickly shake off the ups and downs of life. In contrast, protectionism is like lounging on the couch, watching reruns, and eating Cheetos in a slate room with the windows shuttered. It may feel comforting in the short run, but it leads to flabbiness, fatigue, and decline for the protected parts of the body.
If you’d like to read Dan’s other publications on free trade, please go here. Thanks to Dan and his team, you can also find out how your lawmakers in Congress vote on trade issues.
If the audio player doesn’t work, here’s the file (MP3).
