Explore Freedom

Leaving It All on the Field (Not in the Halls of Congress)

by Adam B. Summers January 4, 2006

Congress certainly has had its plate full lately. Important things are going on in the nation and around the world. A New York Times report that President Bush signed a secret order authorizing the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without obtaining warrants has sparked controversy, Iraqis have ... [click for more]

Must Our Senators Embarrass Us So?

by Sheldon Richman November 14, 2005

An open letter to the American people: Like you, I was embarrassed by those senators holding the hearing on oil-company prices and profits the other day. Hard to believe that adults could act so childishly before television cameras. Let’s face it: those senators made such fools of themselves for one ... [click for more]

Who Cares about the Income Gap?

by Sheldon Richman June 29, 2005

I didn’t wake up this morning wondering whether I had shrunk the income gap between me and Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. I have never wondered about that. But that’s me. If I am to believe the New York Times and other major newspapers, lots of people are obsessed ... [click for more]

Trade Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

by Sheldon Richman June 27, 2005

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... Representatives of the Imperial President have traveled to the far eastern region to “negotiate” strict limits on exports. Although the recent surge in shipments of badly needed inexpensive clothing from traders in the region has raised the ... [click for more]

Fear Not China

by Sheldon Richman June 8, 2005

China. Why has that word for so long struck fear in the hearts of Americans? During the Cold War people harbored terrible fantasies about hordes of Chinese swarming over them and imposing a virulent Oriental communism. Now the Cold War is over, and although China still has a communist-inspired ... [click for more]

The Consumer Is Boss

by Sheldon Richman May 18, 2005

The morning paper brings two pieces of news about Wal-Mart. The first tells of an effort by politicians and so-called community groups to pressure the retail chain to raise its wages. The second describes Wal-Mart’s plans to meet competition from Target and other stores by including products that ... [click for more]

Tear Down the Trade Walls

by Sheldon Richman April 22, 2005

“Please tear down this wall,” the president said. No, it wasn’t President Reagan challenging Soviet President Gorbachev about the Berlin Wall in the 1980s. It was the Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, recently addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Yushchenko was asking the senators and representatives to ... [click for more]

“Buy American” Hurts Americans

by Sheldon Richman December 29, 2004

President Bush has a plan to address the so-called trade deficit, which worries people so much. According to the wire services, Bush said, “People can buy more United States products if they’re worried about the trade deficit.” That will appeal to many Americans in a nationalistic fever. What could ... [click for more]

Limits on Chinese Imports Harm Low-Income Americans

by Sheldon Richman December 22, 2004

President Bush has a nice little Christmas present for every family struggling to make ends meet: he announced the other day that he will make clothing more expensive in the coming year by imposing limits on cheap imports from China. This little favor to American textile and apparel interests ... [click for more]

Bra Wars

by James Bovard November 1, 2004

President Bush continually scapegoats foreigners for his decisions to pilfer Americans. While Bush loves to praise free trade, in reality, “free trade” is whatever George Bush says it is. For Bush, like other recent presidents, “fairness” is the magic word to sanctify whatever trade restrictions he imposes. In his speeches, President Bush ... [click for more]

Revisiting the Wal-Mart Battlefield: A Reply to Critics

by George Leef September 22, 2004

In a previous posting on the FFF site, I argued that the campaign of demonization against Wal-Mart was silly. As expected, a number of people emailed me to tell me off. I think it’s worth another posting to examine the anti–Wal-Mart arguments made by those writers. [click for more]

Examining Reagan’s Record on Free Trade

by Sheldon Richman June 21, 2004

The following article originally appeared in the May 10, 1982, issue of The Wall Street Journal. Copyright Dow Jones and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Hardly anyone was surprised when the Reagan administration imposed quotas on sugar imports last week. This is at once remarkable and understandable. It’s remarkable because Mr. ... [click for more]