The Wall Street Journal is anxious to tell readers that Ron Kirk, President Obama's pick for trade representative, is a "free trader." That is not true. Mr. Kirk has never gone on record attacking the professional and licensing barriers that keep the pay of doctors, lawyers, and other highly educated professionals far above world levels. The excess fees that people in the United States pay because of this protectionism cost consumers hundreds of billions of dollars a year. While Mr. Kirk has been an advocate of reducing barriers that protect less-educated workers, he has no objections to protectionist barriers that protect the most highly paid workers. It is inaccurate to call him a free trader.
--Dean Baker
