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There’s Still No Economic Case for New Tariffs

KenH

Well-Known Member
"Whoever leads the incoming Trump administration’s trade team faces a difficult task. In the face of theoretical flaws, historical experience, and, frankly, common sense, they will have to convince Americans that a policy of deliberate inefficiency and increased costs through higher tariffs will somehow make the country better off. But prosperity through higher taxes on imported goods is neither an intuitive nor easily swallowed argument—and mountains of economic evidence show why.
...
The benefits of free trade and the costs of tariffs remain straightforward, rooted in compelling economic logic, and supported by piles of empirical research. Tariffs’ net economic harms are one of the few issues on which almost all economists — left, right, and center — agree. Raising costs and introducing barriers to the efficient production of goods — and inviting other countries to respond in kind — will harm American consumers and businesses and ultimately harm the US economy overall. Try as protectionists might to prove otherwise, protectionism remains an economic loser, and no amount of alchemy will change that fact."

- rest of article at https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-teams-case-new-tariffs-remains-daunting
 

Earth Wind and Fire

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
"Whoever leads the incoming Trump administration’s trade team faces a difficult task. In the face of theoretical flaws, historical experience, and, frankly, common sense, they will have to convince Americans that a policy of deliberate inefficiency and increased costs through higher tariffs will somehow make the country better off. But prosperity through higher taxes on imported goods is neither an intuitive nor easily swallowed argument—and mountains of economic evidence show why.
...
The benefits of free trade and the costs of tariffs remain straightforward, rooted in compelling economic logic, and supported by piles of empirical research. Tariffs’ net economic harms are one of the few issues on which almost all economists — left, right, and center — agree. Raising costs and introducing barriers to the efficient production of goods — and inviting other countries to respond in kind — will harm American consumers and businesses and ultimately harm the US economy overall. Try as protectionists might to prove otherwise, protectionism remains an economic loser, and no amount of alchemy will change that fact."

- rest of article at https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-teams-case-new-tariffs-remains-daunting
Amen
 

Benjamin

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Sorry my pessimistic progressive friends, but, Trump has made his economic case for tariffs, based on fair trade and a level playing field for a change, and is putting America First, and the people have agreed with him. So, I suggest you take a back seat or find a safe room because there is a new movement coming that is headed toward American Exceptionalism and it is coming strong!
 

Reynolds

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
"Whoever leads the incoming Trump administration’s trade team faces a difficult task. In the face of theoretical flaws, historical experience, and, frankly, common sense, they will have to convince Americans that a policy of deliberate inefficiency and increased costs through higher tariffs will somehow make the country better off. But prosperity through higher taxes on imported goods is neither an intuitive nor easily swallowed argument—and mountains of economic evidence show why.
...
The benefits of free trade and the costs of tariffs remain straightforward, rooted in compelling economic logic, and supported by piles of empirical research. Tariffs’ net economic harms are one of the few issues on which almost all economists — left, right, and center — agree. Raising costs and introducing barriers to the efficient production of goods — and inviting other countries to respond in kind — will harm American consumers and businesses and ultimately harm the US economy overall. Try as protectionists might to prove otherwise, protectionism remains an economic loser, and no amount of alchemy will change that fact."

- rest of article at https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-teams-case-new-tariffs-remains-daunting
Tariff away. The more the better.
 

KenH

Well-Known Member
my pessimistic progressive friends

1) I assume that you are not including me in that list as being "progressive", as it is very clear from my policy positions that I am a minarchist.

2) Progressives(Progressivism being the heart of the Left) can be just as bad as National Conservatives(National Conservatism being the heart of MAGA) in pushing for tariffs.

3) True conservatism, even true libertarianism is what Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan stood for. Ronald Reagan said, "If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals—if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is."

4) I suggest that anyone who is interested in learning about true conservatism, true libertarianism, (limited government as opposed to the big, intrusive government pushed by progressives and National Conservatives) read these two books that shaped my philosophy of government decades ago:

1) The Conscience of a Conservative, by Barry Goldwater.

2) In Defense of Freedom: A Conservative Credo, by Frank S. Meyer.
 

KenH

Well-Known Member
toward American Exceptionalism

The United States is a world empire in decline. There has never been anything "exceptional" about the United States and never will be. The United States is just another in a long line of world empires that have risen and fallen over time.

The United States became a world empire after World War II, as the only major industrial nation that hadn't been bombed to smithereens, and reached its zenith during the 1990s after the fall of its competitor, the Soviet Union.

A world empire cannot sustain its place with a $36 TRILLION (and climbing) national debt, which far exceeds its economic output, and no prospect for the American people being willing to pay the price to bring the spending spree to an end, nor being willing to raise the revenues to pay for the spending spree. Thus, I would not be surprised at all to see the national debt up around $50 TRILLION in November of 2028.
 

KenH

Well-Known Member
@Benjamin
Have you ever watched the movie, "Cromwell", with Richard Harris in the lead part? If not, you should, especially the ending, when Cromwell sounds like an early version of Donald Trump. It is one of my favorite movies, the acting by Harris and Alec Guinness, as King Charles I, is exceptional.

This is my favorite scene, moving toward the climax of the movie, with the line "The king is not England, and England is not the king."

 
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Earth Wind and Fire

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Sorry my pessimistic progressive friends, but, Trump has made his economic case for tariffs, based on fair trade and a level playing field for a change, and is putting America First, and the people have agreed with him. So, I suggest you take a back seat or find a safe room because there is a new movement coming that is headed toward American Exceptionalism and it is coming strong!
What do you mean by friend…. Your not that.
 
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