What 'Beverly Hillbillies' Could Teach Trump About Economics

Why shouldn't Mexico and Canada be trembling over the Trump Administration's threats to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? The answer should be obvious to anyone who has seen an old episode of The Beverly Hillbillies entitled “The Badgers”. It illustrates the fact that you have leverage over someone only if what you have over them means something to them, and nothing to you. NAFTA, however, is just as important to the U.S. economy as it is to the Canadian or even Mexican economy.