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I think that's a bit of a strawman...
Posted on: February 3, 2025 at 13:41:38 CT
JeffB MU
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Similarly (as in exactly) a very stupid person could say
"my senseless tariff war will lower prices, bring jobs to America and swing the balance of trade to the USA".
No one is saying that, of course, nor would they say that. It is probably a bit of begging the question as well. You are assuming that it's senseless, but that is the question under discussion.
My default position has been that tariffs are a bad thing in general, because of the inefficiencies it brings via a drag on the supply chain & so on, but I'm willing to reexamine that position.
My default position did recognize that tariffs or some other restriction on free trade might be a good thing for a country. For instance, relying completely on critical goods & services from a trading partner or partners who are enemies or could become enemies is a rather risky proposition. Ideally a country should be self-sufficient or could become self-sufficient quickly in the event of war or some other emergency... including earthquakes or other natural or unnatural disasters.
But absent that, I always felt that any trade imbalances should balance themselves naturally in due order. But I now question that premise, especially in light of the unnatural fiat monetary system the world currently relies on.
fwiw, from an historical perspective the US actually did very well economically when it relied almost exclusively on tariffs for income.
Would you stipulate to that assertion?
I would also assert that tariffs would indeed tend to reduce purchases from other countries and induce citizens of the US to buy from US producers.
Would you stipulate to that assertion?
"my senseless tariff war will lower prices, bring jobs to America and swing the balance of trade to the USA".
No one is saying that, of course, nor would they say that. It is probably a bit of begging the question as well. You are assuming that it's senseless, but that is the question under discussion.
My default position has been that tariffs are a bad thing in general, because of the inefficiencies it brings via a drag on the supply chain & so on, but I'm willing to reexamine that position.
My default position did recognize that tariffs or some other restriction on free trade might be a good thing for a country. For instance, relying completely on critical goods & services from a trading partner or partners who are enemies or could become enemies is a rather risky proposition. Ideally a country should be self-sufficient or could become self-sufficient quickly in the event of war or some other emergency... including earthquakes or other natural or unnatural disasters.
But absent that, I always felt that any trade imbalances should balance themselves naturally in due order. But I now question that premise, especially in light of the unnatural fiat monetary system the world currently relies on.
fwiw, from an historical perspective the US actually did very well economically when it relied almost exclusively on tariffs for income.
Would you stipulate to that assertion?
I would also assert that tariffs would indeed tend to reduce purchases from other countries and induce citizens of the US to buy from US producers.
Would you stipulate to that assertion?
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I think that's a bit of a strawman... - JeffB MU - 2/3 13:41:38