Executive editor of the Libertarian Institute Sheldon Richman returns to the show to discuss Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum. According to Richman the major damage of Trump's tariffs will be felt by downstream producers and the disruption to the price system. Richman details how, contrary to popular belief, technology has increased factory output in the United States while reducing factory jobs—and that the Chinese, the Mexicans, etc. are scapegoats for useful idiots. Richman then tears apart the argument that trade deficits are a bad thing. His advice? "Read Bastiat." Scott and...
tariffs
TGIF: Trading Places
"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 stage, one has to wonder if reason has any power to win the day. Is this truly a democracy of dunces? Trade is really not that complicated. Kids do it every day, and they know what they're doing. But something happens when they grow up. Most people never grasp the most basic economics. They harbor what Bryan Caplan calls an...
On Tariffs and Trade (and Why Trade is Better for America)
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. I actually benefit a great deal from my trade imbalance with Wal-Mart. Generally speaking, my groceries are cheaper than at other stores where I could shop, and the wide selection of home, auto, electronic, and other valuables makes getting what I need easy, even when the contents of my list are diverse. My trade imbalance...
Foreign Policy Focus #163 – Trump’s Tariffs and Putin’s Missiles
On FPF #163, I discuss several events occurring around the world. Trump has proposed new steal and aluminum tariffs. Putin announces that Russia has developed nuclear-armed cruise missiles. At the UN, the US is looking to punish North Korea and Assad. I also update the Syrian battlefield. Links US moves Afghan Army to M4/M16 Walter Jones Letter Europe Nuclear Agreement add-on Daniel Larison on North...
Foreign Policy Focus #163 – Trump's Tariffs and Putin's Missiles
On FPF #163, I discuss several events occurring around the world. Trump has proposed new steal and aluminum tariffs. Putin announces that Russia has developed nuclear-armed cruise missiles. At the UN, the US is looking to punish North Korea and Assad. I also update the Syrian battlefield. Links US moves Afghan Army to M4/M16 Walter Jones Letter Europe Nuclear Agreement add-on Daniel Larison on North...
TGIF: The Voice of American Workers Is a Charlatan
Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed voice of American working people, has decreed that the prices of washing machines and solar panels shall rise. So it is written. So it is done. Trump's decree, placing tariffs (taxes) on imported versions of those goods, will impose higher costs on consumers to help (in the short run) the minority of Americans who work in those industries. That's how protectionism works -- a favored group of firms and workers benefits at the expense of everyone else. Trump calls this "America First" and looking out for average Americans, making him either a demagogue or...
Freedom, Protectionism, and Pipe Tobacco
One of my haunts is a local tobacco shop, where I regularly drop in to smoke a few bowls of fine pipe tobacco and talk to a fine group of friends and acquaintances. I go there to relax, which is what pipe smoking is all about, but part of yesterday's visit was anything but relaxing. I happened to bring up Trump's new tariffs on washing-machine and solar-panel imports, pointing out, of course, that the tariffs are a tax on American consumers and a slap at all Americans who don't make their living in the washing-machine and solar-panel industries. In other words, the special interests...
Sometimes I Love the Trump Effect–Solar Tariff Edition
The Trump Effect is what causes millions of moderate and left-of-center Americans to immediately take the opposite position of President Trump whenever he makes a new decision. The issues in question are often obscure, but the popular center-left positions that emerge on them can be quite interesting. That is precisely what is happening now that President has unwisely decided to issue new tariffs on solar panels. In response, The Huffington Post released a critical article that explains why the tariffs will harm downstream companies and consumers alike. It's refreshingly sound economics...
The Antiwar Comic: The Korea Situation
Why must we butt-in to everyone's situation?! Can we never NOT make it about us?! For more comics, visit The Webcomic Factory.
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