"The benefits of a tariff are visible. Union workers can see they are 'protected.' The harm which a tariff does is invisible. It's spread widely. There are people that don't have jobs because of tariffs but they don't know it." -Milton Friedman #Tariffs #TradeDeficits #Union #Economics #Politics #Liberty #DonaldTrump #Economy #UAW
Republicans defending “reciprocal tariffs” but trying to claim they are still capitalist and not acting like socialists is the craziest thing. FDR did the same, prolonging the series if recessions while creating extensive overreach of government that is still felt as a burden today. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_Tariff_Act
"The nationalists [Modern Republicans] stress the point that there is an irreconcilable conflict between the interests of various nations, but that, on the other hand, the rightly understood interests of all the citizens within the nation are harmonious. A nation can prosper only at the expense of other nations; the individual citizen can fare well only if his nation flourishes. The liberals [Libertarians/Capitalists] have a different opinion. They believe that the interests of various nations harmonize no less than those of the various groups, classes, and strata of individuals within a nation. They believe that peaceful international cooperation is a more appropriate means than conflict for the attainment of the end which they and the nationalists are both aiming at: their own nation’s welfare. They do not, as the nationalists charge, advocate peace and free trade in order to betray their own nation’s interests to those of foreigners. On the contrary, they consider peace and free trade the best means to make their own nation wealthy. What separates the free traders from the nationalists are not ends, but the means recommended for attainment of the ends common to both." Ludwig von Mises - Human Action
[The US is capitalist, but China is communist and they are usung communist tactics to allow their government to grow bigger than our government. We should use the same communist tactics to make our government bigger and reduce capitalism in the US and China alike. This is a winning strategy for us.] -The Current GOP “4D Chess”
Here is a short economics book on why tariffs are bad: https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Tariff%20Idea_2.pdf
When you support tariffs and protectionist/interventionist policies you are betraying capitalism while simultaneously approving of more government and further interventions. It is supporting unions at the cost of voluntary exchange. Tariffs promote more taxes and tend to drive higher costs. Tariffs and trade wars are a soft war tactic, and can lead to worse conflict.
Have you noticed that pro-tariff, Trump supporters, are calling it “revenue” instead of “taxes?” They have republicans championing government intervention, bigger government, burdens on domestic industries, and higher taxes.
Writer, Speaker, Content Manager at MoneyMetals.com 🪙
5moThose who directly or indirectly benefit from tariffs, pro-government interventionists, and those who are economically illiterate will champion such as a cause as trade deficit and tariff policies. Why would the normal citizen want government involved in spiking the prices of goods and services all for theoretical negotiations that should not involve government in the first place? Why would a person who advocates for free trade or capitalism encourage more government restrictions and involvement? Why would even most industries want government to negotiate on their behalf? People make trades because they both feel they benefit from the trade. This is capitalism 101. Government does not create, and it cannot dictate an economy into prosperity. Government can only manipulate, coerce, and redistribute. In short, government interventions such as trade deficit and tariff policies create more costs, more government control, bigger government, sets the precident for further interventions, and at the cost of a prosperous economy, property rights, engagement rights, trade rights, business rights, pursuit of happiness, and liberty.