Bob McTeer: Why Bastiat is My Hero

Bob McTeer is an economist and was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1991–2005.

This video is from a conference marking Frederic Bastiat’s 200th birthday in 2001 in Saint‐​Paul‐​les‐​Dax, France. McTeer talks about his admiration for the French economist — specifically how Bastiat expressed economics in simple, accessible terms — and about his own support of free trade and the folly of worrying about trade deficits. He frequently compares various principles of economics to lyrics from country music songs, and takes questions from the largely libertarian audience at the end of his talk.