Arnold Kling decries The Politics of Economic Nationalism:
As Boudreaux points out, debts accumulated by our government are indeed collective debts. But if someone from the private sector borrows from overseas, that is his debt, not your debt or our debt. In and of itself, a trade deficit — or a Capital Account Surplus, as the Economic Report refers to it — would have no collective implications. With private transactions, those who borrow are in debt, and those who don’t — aren’t.
On “our” oil dependence:
The United States gets much of its oil from Canada and Mexico. Still, we are “dependent” on Middle Eastern oil, because oil is traded in a world market. Any time there is a shock to demand or supply, the price is affected.“We” are not doing anything wrong by using oil instead of a more-expensive fuel. “We” are not funding terrorism. If you think that Saudi Arabia and Iran are doing bad things with the money they earn, then the place to go to get that fixed is the State Department or the Pentagon, not the Department of Energy. The Energy Department only affects our collective interests by increasing government indebtedness.
On “our” health care:
Nearly all discussions of health care policy are framed in the rhetoric of economic nationalism. We spend too much on health care. Our system emphasizes acute care rather than preventive care. We have too many uninsured.When we hear this litany, we should ask skeptical questions. Who spends too much on health care? If I choose to spend a lot on my health care, how does that hurt anyone else? How is the “system” stopping me from getting preventive care? Isn’t prevention my personal responsibility? Why don’t the uninsured buy catastrophic health insurance? Is it because health insurers won’t take them, or is it because the individuals don’t really want health insurance unless someone else gives it to them?