Comment on the Commentary of the Day by Donald

							                              Comment on the Commentary of the Day
                                                by
                                       Donald J. Boudreaux
                                Chairman, Department of Economics
                                     George Mason University
                                       dboudrea@gmu.edu

Disclaimer: The following “Letters to the Editor” were sent to the respective publications
on the dates indicated. Some were printed but many were not. The original articles that
are being commented on may or may not be available on the internet and may require
registration or subscription to access if they are. Some of the original articles are
syndicated and therefore may have appeared in other publications also.

2 July 2006                         are endangered? Of course      argues that governments
                                    not. Americans are             that lower trade barriers
Editor, The Washington              increasingly among the         and reduce subsidies make
Times                               world's best service           their citizens wealthier
                                    providers -- researchers,      ("More Trade, Less
Dear Editor:                        insurers, software             Poverty," June 29). But
                                    designers; the list is long    then she (apparently
Alan Tonelson and Peter             and growing. Our               proudly) announces that
Kim illogically argue that,         economy in general is no       Uncle Sam will not make
because manufacturing               more threatened by             further moves along these
industries led U.S.                 growing imports of             lines until other countries
economic growth in the              manufactured goods than        do so.
past, the relative decline in       our transportation sector is
U.S. manufacturing in               threatened by growing          What gives? Why does
recent years is an ill              reliance upon air              our government knowingly
economic tiding for                 transportation.                dampen the growth of
Americans                                                          American prosperity just
("Manufacturing squeeze,            29 June 2006                   because other governments
July 2).                                                           are equally inconsiderate
                                    Editor, The Wall Street        of their citizens?
Would Tonelson and Kim              Journal
argue also that, because            200 Liberty Street             28 June 2006
railroads led the growth of         New York, NY 10281
the transportation sector                                          Editor, The New York Post
125 years ago, the decline          Dear Editor:
of railroads in recent                                             Dear Editor:
decades means that our              U.S. Trade Representative
transportation prospects            Susan Schwab correctly
You predict that Warren         gasoline ("Is anti-gouging     stability and a sharp jag
Buffett "will be                anti-consumer?" June 27).      upward in recent years"
remembered as an                But he overlooks one           ("A hockey stick
exemplary humanitarian"         benefit of such controls:      wake-up," June 26). Also
("Buffett's Death-Tax           easier lives for us            relevant is a second
Avoidance," June 28).           economics professors.          'hockey stick' line - one
Right.                                                         that motivates many of us
                                Teaching about the role of     who worry that
But Mr. Buffett's greatest      market prices is tough         government action to curb
contribution to humanity        work, and it's a lot tougher   global warming will create
will never be his               now that students haven't      problems larger than the
philanthropy, however           experienced the 1970s'         one it aims to solve.
effective it is. His supreme    long lines at gasoline
contribution is his             stations. Such waiting         That second line tracks
investment prowess - his        lines reveal to students the   human population. From
skill and hard-work at          bizarre and harmful            1,600 BC until the 19th
directing capital to fruitful   consequences of                century, population was
uses.                           government's visible foot -    flat, averaging much less
                                thus enabling them better      than one billion. Then
Although derided by many,       to appreciate the beauty       suddenly, starting around
such prowess is essential to    and benefits of the            1820, population began to
keep ordinary workers           market's invisible hand.       soar. Modern industrial
productive and well-paid.                                      society - allegedly the
                                26 June 2006                   source of dangerous global
27 June 2006                                                   warming - is surely the
                                Editor, The Boston Globe       source of prosperity that
Editor, The Washington                                         gives life literally billions
Times                           Dear Editor:                   of people who otherwise
                                                               would never have been
Dear Editor:                    Seeking stricter controls on   born or who would today
                                carbon emissions, you          be in their graves.
Ben Lieberman rightly           mention the "'hockey
praises the FTC for             stick'" line reflecting
opposing price controls on      centuries of temperature