Both the Post and Times told readers that President Obama picked an economic team committed to "free trade." This is not true. The top members of President Obama's team, and certainly his Treasury Secretary designate Timothy Geithner, supported the use of federal funds to bail out the banks. Giving $350 billion in loans at below market rates (coupled with government guarantees for deposits) was a massive subsidy to U.S. banks that give them an enormous advantage in international competition. Such subsidies are a clear form of protectionism. While these officials may want to call themselves "free traders," it is not an accurate description of their approach to economic policy and the media should not use it except in a quotation.
--Dean Baker
