President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package creates imaginary jobs, while destroying ones in the real world.

Billions from the stimulus are being spent on creating tens of thousands of imaginary jobs in 440 phantom Congressional districts, according to the government’s own web site:

Just how big is the stimulus package? Well for one, it has doubled the size of the House of Representatives, according to recovery.gov, which says that funds were distributed to 440 congressional districts that do not exist. . . . The web site…

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So says British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell. At a meeting of Canada’s provincial premiers held in Regina, Saskatchewan, last week, slapping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods was barely averted.

Harper and his Trade Minister Stockwell Day scored an important victory Friday when provincial premiers finally agreed not to retaliate. “We’ve made it clear we won’t ask the U.S. for anything we are not willing to give the U.S.,” said British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, who attended a meeting of premiers held in…

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I admire Dan Ikenson’s work on trade issues at Cato. Usually I agree with his views. A notable exception is his post yesterday on Cato’s blog – “Too much hysteria about trade.”

No, Dan wasn’t hitting the current climate of China-bashing or the Teamsters’ on-going campaign against Mexican trucking and NAFTA or the “Buy American” provisions in the stimulus bill. Dan instead was taking to task newspapers like the Washington Post that have been warning readers about the rising tide of protectionism in this world…

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Selecting former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk as the nominee for U.S. Trade Representative sends a signal that perhaps President-elect Obama will temper his anti-trade stance in the face of real-world economics. Kirk, a two-term elected mayor of Dallas, doesn’t have much trade experience, but he is a native of the U.S.’s largest exporting state, with Mexico and Canada — those nasty NAFTA partners — as Texas’ major export destinations.

The nominee for one of Obama’s Cabinet positions holds a law degree from University…

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As President-elect Obama fills his Cabinet and top-advisor positions, he has not yet named a U.S. Trade Representative, but, as CEI noted, he purportedly has offered the job to Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA). Becerra had joined the chorus to redo the North America Free Trade Agreement, even though he did vote for the trade pact in 1993.

To revisit NAFTA and try to include protectionist measures would be a huge mistake. What many NAFTA critics may not realize is that the trade agreement benefits…

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When was the last time the U.S.’s top trade official wasn’t a strong advocate for free trade? It may happen in the new Obama Administration.

According to numerous news reports, President-elect Obama has offered the post of USTR to Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), a 16-year member of the House, who serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee that oversees trade and is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi — his website lists him as “Assistant to the Speaker.”

Becerra’s record on…

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