The Attack of the Protectionists: Where are the Economists?

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Given the fact that economists always get up in arms (shrill?) when someone proposes a tariff or quota that might have the effect of protecting the jobs and wages of blue collar workers, yet they never can be found when a barrier is proposed to aid highly educated professionals or the pharmaceutical or entertainment industry, one might suspect a class bias. The Washington Post has an article on the entertainment industry's efforts to increase penalty's for copyright violations. The article wrongly claims that these violations cost the economy money. This is untrue on its face. The losses to the industry are gains to consumers, and those who know economics would know immediately that the gains to consumers vastly exceed the losses to the industry. Some economic analysis would be useful in this article.

--Dean Baker

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