A 420 Character Letter to the President

Steven Horwitz

Dear President Obama,

The global economy is not one of your pick-up basketball games where we try to"win the future." It is a vast ecosystem of economic exchange and cooperation where the "object" is to improve the well-being of everyone, and especially the poor, by thinking beyond US special interests and embracing free trade movement in both people and goods both internally and externally.

Comments

[Roger McKinney]

I'm sure you already know this, but President Obama would agree with you completely. But he would define the terms a little differently: free trade is good if it is "fair"; freedom means freedom from fear and poverty; improving the well-being of all, including the poor, requires the government to "invest" in education, research and infrastructure.

[Daniel Kuehn]

Well said. I think he's probably more aware of this than you fear, though. I have more concerns about the Congress (both before and after this last November, to be clear).

[Jasper]

A reference to reefer, Mr. Horwitz? Or, three tweets?

[Steve Horwitz]

Any Facebook user knows that 420 is the character limit for a status update. All you potheads can dispense with your conspiracy theories, not to mention all you Hitler's Birthday folks too.

[Dan]

Dear Professor Horwitz,

The State of the Union Address is not some Econ 101 summer course where you can make a trite joke about pickup basketball to get a chuckle out of the freshman girls sitting in the front row. So please spare us the "I'm so smart that I can out whit the leader of the free world in less than 420 characters" attitude, as it is just boring. Yes, we get it, freedom is good.

So when Obama states in the SOTU that we need better transportation infrastructure, somehow in your mind he isn't embracing the free movement of people and goods? Really?

How about when he mentioned passage of the South Korean free trade pact and that he is looking to signing agreements with other nations around the world? Is that "externally" enough for you?

How about when he encourages congress to improve our immigration system inclucing allowing forign students to be able to stay in our country after graduation? Do you think that will improve our global ecosystem of exchange and cooperation?

Much of the speech was about having a first rate education system, transportation system, energy infrastructure and getting our economic house in order. Are there really any economists or business people out there who think these things are not needed to improve the well-being of everyone, especially the poor?

Finally, do you really think that at anytime in the history of pickup basketball that someone actually said the words "hey, come on guys, let's try to win the future!" Yes the "win the future" phrase doesn't capture the vast complexity of the global economy, but it is a reminder that we have to look beyond just this years earnings report, or election results, or year-end bonus. We have to make some hard decisions now so we can benefit in the long run. But what does he know, he just likes to play pickup basketball.

[Supra Skytop]

The time seemed to be a ruler, it can measure for one who strives forward progress