Show: 018 Top Priority Podcast | Free Trade Priority Initiative
Date Recorded: November 26, 2019
Host: Duane Lester, Manager of Issue Education,
Grassroots Leadership Academy Guests: Dan Pearson, Trade Policy Fellow,
Americans for Prosperity Show Notes & Timestamps - Why is the Stand Together Community involved in the issue of Free Trade? min [4:26]
Whenever a country restricts its imports, it reduces the freedoms of its own citizens to do business with whomever they want. —Dan Pearson
- Why is Free Trade part of the Stand Together Openness portfolio? min [8:55] • What happens to a society when it is closed off to others? min [11:18]
- What does the Stand Together Community stand for when it comes to Trade? min [13:21]
- Self-sufficiency is the road to poverty and trade is the road to prosperity. —Russ Roberts— min [19:23]
- If America opens our market to the world—without tariffs, quotas, or barriers—how does that help Americans? min [23:29]
- What is the China shock? min [35:10]
- What is the reality of Americas exporting power? America is the world’s largest trading company in terms of the value of imports plus exports. min [39:45]
- What is meant by a trade deficit and is it a meaningful measurement? min [41:05]
- Individuals and businesses—not bureaucrats and politicians—should guide trade decisions. min [48:12]
Letting capitalism work has been the route to prosperity for all of mankind. —Dan Pearson—
- Punitive measures, such as tariffs and quotas, are an unjust government intrusion into the lives of hardworking Americans; they violate the property and associational rights of individuals and should all be eliminated. min [51:15]
- Subsidies and other forms of government support for powerful and politically connected businesses and individuals do not create value; they punish consumers, burden taxpayers, isolate businesses from market competition and should be eliminated. min [53:20]
- Trade disputes should be solved through existing international trade organizations and agreements. min [58:19]
- How our Community views Free Trade through the lens of the fourth mutually-reinforcing principle—Self-Actualization. min [1:18:09]
- Do the laws of economics work for the entire world or just the United States? min [1:18:37]
Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. —Milton Friedman—
**Additional Resource**
What is Top Priority | Ideas for Human Flourishing?
We have a deep belief in people and promote ideas of human flourishing.
Top Priority is a collection of interactive, learning-oriented conversations on how the Stand Together Community engages with and advocates for solutions through the lens of our Community Vision: We transform society by breaking the internal and external barriers that prevent people from realizing their potential, enabling all people to improve their lives and find fulfillment by helping others do the same.
The Stand Together Community Vision is guided by four, mutually reinforcing principles: Equal Rights | Mutual Benefit | Openness | Self-Actualization
Explore the free and civil society through the lens of each of these four mutually reinforcing principles and stand together to help every person rise.
Top Priority is a production of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation's Grassroots Leadership Academy, where we make Human Flourishing a top priority.