Let's beat a dead horse (sorry for the long face, err, post)

I just wanted to get this out there, I'll trim it up and make it coherent this weekend. An email to my doubting roommates:

Okay so I don't have time right now to do more, but here is a pretty
clear breakdown of the benefits of how economic liberalization
produces results for the poorest. I know liberals in Congress may
think otherwise, but I hope that we can agree that a lower percent of
poulation below the poverty line is good. I hope we can agree that a
low ionfant mortality rate is good and a longer life exectancy is good
(there are hundreds of other measures on CIA World Factbook, but these
are commonly used indicators of quality of life, along with literacy,
education, etc.). Opponents of free trade in Congress are either
totally incapable of understanding science or opposed to prosperity
for the poorest of the poor; reduction in bad things and increases in
good things are caused by free markets and good governance much more
than any other factor (foreign aid, "labor standards", cultural
history, whatever). I have arranged these factors from a few South
American countries according to the Heritage Foundation's Index of
Economic Freedom 2005 (easiest source to find and use, ranks would be
very similar in other other measures). This ranking is ont he second
worksheet tab of the excel file if you are interested. I didn't have
time to include all S Amer countires, but I would bet money they
correspond to economic freedom.

Also note, improvement is fast but not immediate. Peru still lags in
many measures but is gainign fast, thnaks in large part to the
policies of Alejandro Toledo (born into poor, native American family,
Stanford PhD in Economics, elected presidnet in 2001). You can bet
Peru is making gain for the poorest citizens at a rate much faster
than any more repressive country (that claims to have "higher
standards"). There are many, many factors that play a part in how a
country develops, but nothing brings success like capitalism and
markets.

Let's be clear: nothing in CAFTA or free trade agreements prevents
governments from enacting labor and environmental laws. Nothing
encourages exploitation. But if a country has policies that allow
workers to employment if they want it and countries support policies
that are good for business and enterprise, it's not long before the
prosperity follows. And it helps the poorest the most.

In theory, we could spend a lot mor eon foreign aid. We could promote
a universal minimum wage for the globe. We could buy food for everyone
and gove everyone a puppy. But in reality, it simply doesn't work; the
best cure for economically depressed regions is more trade, economic
liberalization, and good governance.

Please do more research, look up more countries, see if the trend
holds true in Africa and Asia. Try to find a time where protectionism
has ever worked in the history of the world. It's just ludicrous to
see that almost half of elected representatives in Congress for some
reason "don't get it". And it's way, way past time to never elect
another one like them.

(Excel can be found at www.natehertel.com)