Despite growing up in New Jersey, I was not a big Bruce Springsteen fan when I was younger. Over the years, though, I've come to appreciate him, and he is now one of my favorites. So, I was amused to stumble across this quote from a 1984 George Will column:
If all Americans -- in labor and management, who make steel or cars or shoes or textiles -- made their products with as much energy and confidence as Springsteen and his merry band make music, there would be no need for Congress to be thinking about protectionism. No "domestic content" legislation is needed in the music industry. The British and other invasions have been met and matched.
Maybe we should call this the "Bruce Springsteen" theory of trade policy: Make your products of such high quality that you can compete with anybody!
Just the other day Springsteen endorsed Obama, but I suspect that George Will is not going to follow Springsteen on that one.
