Tyler Coughlan, Chapter 12, Question #6

The passage I found most interesting was in the section where he quoted Abraham Lincoln wanting to make railways here and keep the money here instead of buying it from England. Wheelan found a fallacy in that argument is that it would be a huge waste of time. England already has the railways perfected. We need trade because it would be difficult for us to leave if we had to make all our clothes food, house etc. We can use absolute advantage where countries do what they're best at and that improves everyone's quality of life. The oppurtunity cost of tiger woods doing auto repairs is a gigantic failure of skills available. "Productivity is what makes us rich. Specialization is what makes us productive. Trade allows us to specialize" (275). Trade makes people better off.