During the past two weeks our hypothetical Chief Executives (you) had to make a decision concerning our trade policy. (Click here to view the full Executive Decision memo for this scenario, written by James Fallows.) The options presented to the President by his or her aides were the following:

Option A: Remember David Ricardo (laissez-faire).

Option B: Remember Alexander Hamilton (buy American and impose tariffs).

Option C: Remember George Bush (protectionism will slowly but inevitably end by itself).

Option D: Remember Boutros Boutros-Ghali (resolve trade disputes through the World Trade Organization).

Option E: Remember James Monroe (concentrate on trade relations in the Western Hemisphere).

The Results

Remember Alexander Hamilton. The "Alexander Hamilton" plan (Option B), encouraging the government to buy American and to impose tariffs in order to protect our trading interests, was a clear winner with 36% of the vote. Those who picked this option felt it was the only plan that could make America more competitive in the international market. A distant second at 21% was the "David Ricardo" plan (Option A), which advocated not regulating trade at all. The "James Monroe" plan (Option E), in support of concentrating on trade relations with our partners in the Western Hemisphere, was close behind with 20%. Next came the "George Bush" plan (Option C), which stated that protectionism will inevitably wane, with 14% of the vote. Last and least, with 9%, was the "Boutros Boutros-Ghali" plan (Option D), advocating the resolution of trade disputes through the World Trade Organization,.

Those who supported Option B generally felt that in order to make ourselves more competitive we should take a tougher stand on trade issues with East Asian countries. Another common response was that a more workable plan could have been created by combining aspects of all the options. Others felt that consumers should take more responsibility: if they don't agree with China's policies, for instance, they shouldn't buy products from China. Finally, some expressed the feeling that America needs to grow up and face the competition.

Option	% of Respondents
Option A: "David Ricardo"	21%
Option B: "Alexander Hamilton"	36%
Option C: "George Bush"	14%
Option D: "Boutros Boutros-Ghali"	9%
Option E: "James Monroe"	20%

Party Lines. Of the respondents, 36% were Democrats, 20% were Republicans, and 21% were Independents. Of those remaining, 9% selected Other, 1% were unregistered, and 13% did not indicate their affiliation. Support for the first three options was relatively even among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Democrats, however, dominated those choosing Options D and E; Republicans tended to shy away from those options.

Option	Democrats	Republicans	Independents	Other	Unregistered	No Answer
Option A	25%	25%	25%	13%	6%	6%
Option B	32%	28%	20%	12%	0%	8%
Option C	25%	25%	25%	0%	0%	25%
Option D	66%	0%	0%	17%	0%	17%
Option E	47%	6%	27%	0%	0%	20%

The Significance of the Issue. On average, respondents felt that trade policy is a slightly less significant issue than other ones we've presented. For the first time, however, no one selected the "completely irrelevant" option.

Issue	THE Most Significant Issue	Very Important	Fairly Important	Not Very Important	Completely Irrelevant
Trade Policy	6%	35%	45%	13%	0%
Campaign-Finance Reform	9%	41%	27%	20%	4%
Health-Care Reform	4%	39%	41%	13%	2%
Entitlement Reform	12%	56%	27%	4%	2%
Immigration Reform	2%	32%	50%	15%	1%

Those who picked Option A and Option B in general felt more strongly about the trade issue than those who picked other options.

Option	THE Most Significant Issue	Very Important	Fairly Important	Not Very Important
Option A	0%	56%	31%	13%
Option B	16%	28%	44%	12%
Option C	0%	38%	37%	25%
Option D	0%	33%	67%	0%
Option E	0%	27%	60%	13%

Age. Of respondents who indicated their age, only 2% were under 18, 40% were 18-34, 30% were 35-44, 14% were 45-54, and 10% were over 55. Four percent declined to give their age.

Age Range	Option A	Option B	Option C	Option D	Option E
Under 18	6%	0%	0%	17%	0%
18-34	31%	40%	50%	33%	47%
35-44	38%	30%	25%	17%	20%
45-54	19%	12%	13%	17%	13%
Over 55	0%	12%	13%	0%	13%
No Answer	6%	0%	0%	17%	7%

Race and Gender. The breakdown of choices by race and gender showed little variation.

Click here to return to the Executive Decision index page.