In his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Norbert Michel, vice president and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, challenges the narrative that free trade killed the middle class—and warns that protectionist policies may be doing more harm than good.
He says, “Populists such as Vice President JD Vance argue that free-trade agreements cause middle-class wages to fall, hollowing out towns across America. Yet the only way to make this argument is to cherry-pick the data to death.”
If you would like to speak with Michel, please reach out to pr@cato.org.
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