The best way to look at tariffs or import quotas or other protectionist restraints is to forget about political boundaries. Political boundaries of nations may be important for other reasons, but they have no economic meaning whatever. Suppose, for example, that each...
protectionism
TGIF: A Public Choice Perspective on Trade
by Sheldon Richman | May 4, 2018 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Let's say you could make a strictly economic case for government interference with people's trading activities, that is, with their ability to cooperate freely with others across the world. (I have no idea what "strictly economic case" even means, but stay with me.)...
TGIF: The Dangerous Deficit in Trade Understanding
by Sheldon Richman | Apr 13, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
I was chatting with my tobacconist the other day -- I have no rabbi, no priest, no minister, no imam, no chiropractor, and no lawyer, but I do have a tobacconist -- when it struck me that my trade deficit with him is astronomical. How could I have let this happen? For...
TGIF: Economic Nationalism: Elitism in Populist Clothing
by Sheldon Richman | Mar 16, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
My old friend and former American Conservative editor Dan McCarthy gets it all wrong about Donald Trump's "national security" tariffs on aluminum and steel. I won't discuss Dan's strictly economic case for the tariffs -- I've already discussed this -- but I want to...
TGIF: Trading Places
by Sheldon Richman | Mar 9, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
"What protection teaches us, is to do to ourselves in time of peace what enemies seek to do to us in time of war." --Henry George When Donald Trump can propose tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, washing machines, and solar-panels without being roundly booed off the...
On Tariffs and Trade (and Why Trade is Better for America)
by Matt Knight | Mar 5, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles
I have a huge trade imbalance with Wal-Mart. Huge. I spend hundreds of dollars on groceries and other items every month, but never--not once--has Wal-Mart ever bought something from me. Maybe I should stop shopping at Wal-Mart as a way of sticking it to them. Or not....
Trump: 'Trade Wars Are Good'
by Eric Schuler | Mar 2, 2018 | Blog
Yes, that's apparently a real quote from President Trump. This is likely the worst economic position he has staked out so far. On the plus side, if he puts his trade war optimism to the test and thus sparks the next recession, perhaps we won't have to hear contrived...
Trump: ‘Trade Wars Are Good’
by Eric Schuler | Mar 2, 2018 | Blog
Yes, that's apparently a real quote from President Trump. This is likely the worst economic position he has staked out so far. On the plus side, if he puts his trade war optimism to the test and thus sparks the next recession, perhaps we won't have to hear contrived...
Blog
The Kyle Anzalone Show guest Col. LAWRENCE WILKERSON: Can Trump Save His Presidency?
“Golden age” is an easy line to sell. Living through the consequences of a war of choice is harder. We’re joined by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson for a blunt look at where the United States stands as the Iran conflict drags on, and why the economy, the military, and public...
The Kyle Anzalone Show guest Nick Cleveland-Stout: Israel’s Scheme to Control AI Is Working, Trump Is Making Millions from War!
If you’ve ever watched an AI tool answer a complicated question with total confidence, you’ve felt the power problem hiding in plain sight. We sit down with journalist Nick Cleveland-Stout of Responsible Statecraft and Drop Site News to trace how Israeli influence...
The Kyle Anzalone Show: Why Are Progressives Winning Elections?
A progressive primary upset turns into something much bigger when you follow the money and the message. We’re rolling solo and starting with what last night’s results suggest about where U.S. politics is heading: foreign policy is no longer a side issue. When wars...
The Kyle Anzalone Show guest Lt Col Karen Kwiatkowski: RUBIO V. Vance: The White House Factions Frustrating Trump?
“We don’t want regime change… but the regime has to change.” That line tells you almost everything about how Washington talks itself into bigger wars, and why the US Iran conflict keeps drifting from one stated goal to the next. We sit down with Lt Col Karen...
The Kyle Anzalone Show: Loomer Sits Down With Ukraine Neo-Nazi
A viral interview raises an uncomfortable question: what does it mean when a high-profile US political influencer sits down with a commander tied to the Azov movement and the “clean up the optics” answer is basically no? We take that clip seriously, not as clickbait,...
Anti-War Blog – Admit to a war crime, now what?
Dave DeCamp from Antiwar.com reported in a recent piece that the Pentagon admitted in its annual report to having committed two large-scale massacres against civilians in Yemen. The Pentagon acknowledged that hundreds of civilians, including children were killed and...












