Outside the Federal Trade Commission building in Washington, D.C., twin sculptures sum up the government's attitude toward economic freedom. They depict a muscular figure heroically holding back a wild horse that presumably would wreak havoc if let loose. The title is "Man Controlling Trade."
How typical of government. Trade is an activity in which two people realize mutual gains through voluntary exchange. It's win-win -- or else it doesn't occur. Commerce is cooperation. It's the essence of civilization.
Yet the FTC likens trade to a wild animal that someone -- government, of course -- must control.
John Stossel examines the effects of bureaucracy on the economy.
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