China Bashing - Ignores Leadership Failures in U.S.

Kevin Hassett

From Bloomberg - China bashing is all the rage in Washington, as politicians of both parties blame the world’s fastest-growing major economy for high jobless rates in the U.S. Such a popular target is China that the U.S. House of Representatives, all but paralyzed by the prospect of next month’s election, easily passed a bill last week that might impose tariffs on China in retaliation for currency manipulation. Blaming China is fun for the political and intellectual elites because it allows them to ignore their own failures. Gridlocked politicians on both sides of the aisle are equally attracted to the claim.

The problem with U.S. growth isn’t that we have an out-of-control government and the second-highest corporate tax rates on earth; it’s all China’s fault. As political scapegoating goes, this is easy -- too easy. In truth, the impact on the U.S. economy of a change in Chinese currency policy could well be so small that it would be almost impossible to detect. Read more here:

China Bashing - Ignores Leadership Failures in U.S.