Posted on 03/08/2016 7:31:07 AM PST by reaganaut1
Donald Trump has pitched himself to voters as a proud protectionist, intent on punishing the Chinese companies that he says are hurting American workers. In his January meeting with the editorial board of the New York Times, he said he would impose a 45 percent tariff on all products imported from China.
Luckily, we don’t have to guess how such a tariff would impact the economy, because the Obama administration attempted a version of Trump’s idea seven years ago. It did not go well.
“It’s basically a real-world case study on what would happen if we imposed 35 percent tariffs on Chinese imports,” says Scott Lincicome, an international trade attorney and adjunct fellow at the Cato Institute. “In this case, we saw huge costs for consumers, gains by other foreign competitors, and almost no gains for American workers, even under the most generous of assumptions.”
By 2009, the United States was importing tires from China at a rate of about 50 million per year. The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial, and Service Workers International Union complained to the Obama administration that there was a “large, rapid, and continuing” increase in the number of Chinese-made tires entering American markets. In September of that year, Obama approved relief for domestic producers by increasing tariffs on most new tire imports for three years.
...
Economists Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Sean Lowry note that the number of Americans employed in tire manufacturing increased from 50,800 in September 2009 to 52,000 in September 2011. If all 1,200 jobs were attributed to the tariff — an exceedingly generous assumption — they calculate that Obama’s move could be credited with saving or creating $48 million of additional worker income and purchasing power.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
That’s why RIGHT TO WORK STATES are growing. America was completely RIGHT TO WORK until the unions took over. Now the tide is turning back to good old fashioned common sense. Look at Europe to see what unions have done to once strong economies.
You’re part of the problem if you would rather buy a ten dollar pair of jeans than support the rebirth of a nationally strong economy.
You’re contradicting yourself.
On the one hand you’re saying that companies go through all the trouble and expenses of closing an American plant and opening one in China because of their cheap labor, on the other you’re saying the cost of labor is immaterial. Huh??
Very welcome.
That is a ridiculous statement. The Depression was caused by speculation in the stock market using borrowed money made worse by speculators buying stock stock on credit sometimes with as little as 10% down. IT was a financial house of cards. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH TRADE.
I would gladly pay a few pennies on the dollar more to have robust economy. Then again I am pro American, unlike some.
We do trade with China. But they sell about $4 to every $1 they buy. If the world were comprised of 2 countries only, then we might be trading 3$ of printed US currency plus $1 of goods for $4 of goods. I’d call that a bargain as it’s easy to print money.
Of course the world is composed of many countries. So there is no reason to expect any two countries to have a trade balance. As a simple case, you could have triangle trade between three countries. Each country could have a trade imbalance with someone, yet the system would be in perfect balance.
The last time I checked, the US was buying more goods from the world that the world was buying from us. (We just changed the law to allow exporting of US oil. That might be a game changer.). But financial flows should be considered too. The world was investing more in the US that we were investing in the world. How well did we use those investments. Some went to taxes, food stamps, Fannie Mae, etc.. It’s up to use spend our money well.
When it comes to Nazism, communism, and Islamic supremacy, the enemy is out there. When it comes to competing in producing goods and services, we have to look at the shackles we have placed on ourselves. I’m not going to hate the Japanese for making a good car. (Especially as some are made in right-to-work states in the United States.)
The CAPITALIZED WORDS are very convincing.
So you really believe that you could buy a pair of jeans made in the US for $11 instead of $10.
Please let me know where and I’ll go buy it.
So you really believe that you could buy a pair of jeans made in the US for $11 instead of $10.
Please let me know where and I’ll go buy it.
Clothing is labor intensive. Almost every other manufactured good is not. You are not be paying attention.
Know one is asking anyone to hate the Japanese. But a level playing might help with the biggest players.
I pretty much agree with that.
I think it all started with a liberal press. They are always finding problems in the private sector. The solution is always government, usually government regulation. Then we vote for the politician who will “fix” the problem. These politicians enact more regulation, often celebrating having “solved the problem” as soon as the ink is dry on the parchment of law. Big companies are the ones best equipped to deal with regulators and regulation. This skews American industry towards bigger companies.
The first domino was the press. The second the voter, and so it goes.
Then we vote for the politician who will “fix” the problem. These politicians enact more regulation, often celebrating having “solved the problem” as soon as the ink is dry on the parchment of law.
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BEST REASON to vote for a NON POLITICIAN......DO VoTE for a person who understands business. Vote Trump!
The solution is to pass a law that requires any company importing into the U.S. to provide the same wages and benefits, commensurate with their economies, that U.S. workers enjoy. This would reduce imports into the U.S., improve the lives of foreign workers whose companies heed the law, and bring many jobs back to our shores.
“a level playing might help with the biggest players.”
I certainly understand the impulse.
People will disagree on what is the right playing field. I think the main reason for taxes, including tariffs, is to raise revenue. I mention this because sometimes people want taxes to manage behavior.
There are several kinds of taxes that the government can use to raise taxes. If any particular tax gets too high, people will go to extreme lengths to get around it. Adam Smith recommended the use of a variety of taxes, none too high, so as not to skew behavior too much.
Americans can have many discussions about which tax we prefer. I don’t know how much business we have lecturing other countries about their taxes.
The idea of intellectual property is another matter. First off, property is another matter. It seems we turn a blind eye when other countries “nationalize” (steal) our businesses. Send in the Marines! Intellectual property (computer code, movies, etc.) is more abstract. I think this has to be worked as a topic in its own right.
When a country enacts a tariff, their consumers lose. In the full course of events, their exporters tend to lose too. It’s just a bad idea. They are shooting themselves in the foot. Oftentimes the response is “Oh yeah? I can shoot myself in the foot too.”
Trump is running to be President of the United States. He is a politician.
He isn’t “minted” yet. I believe he has the personal integrity as well as the pride to follow through on his promises. Seal the Border with a wall, build back a strong military, balance the trade deals so we get a fair shake. Anything else is just icing on the cake.
ALL the other politicians are bought and paid for. Trump is an independent. I like that!
“Clothing is labor intensive. Almost every other manufactured good is not.”
Why are iphones (as well as all other electronics not built here), as well as most consumer goods? What exactly is built here anymore beside industrial goods, and stuff that they haven’t figured out how to export yet.
Go to a Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buys, Auto Zone, etc and tell me how many products have “Made in The USA’ on them.
You got blinders on? I know reality can be a bitch, but ignoring it and deluding yourself can be even worse.
We all remember.
And then the cold wind of glib BS from the huckster class started blowing...remember how globalism was going to "free us up" to do much more satisfying, high paying jobs?
Oops. Those jobs got taken by H1-B's. Seems they paid too much..
>> your post is essentially an ad hominem attack on National Review <<
That post and about 99,999 others recently.
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