Economists Against Smoot-Hawley

Econ Journal Watch ^ | September 2007 | The Editors

[Redmen4ever]

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 significantly raised import restrictions, reduced trade and prosperity, provoked protectionist retaliation by foreign governments, and damaged the spirit of peace, cooperation, and goodwill.

[Redmen4ever]

What do economists know about economics anyway? Thankfully, Herbert Hoover ignored those pinheads and signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. As a result, we avoided going into a Great Depression, other countries did not retaliate against us, and the world didn't spiral into global war and genocide. This is why Herbert Hoover's face was added to Mount Rushmore, as one of our country's greatest presidents. When times got tough, he went with popular opinion and not with with the so-called experts.

[Choose Ye This Day]

But, but, but...Protectionism is in our national interests! Free trade is un-American!!!

[BfloGuy]

Funny how so many people want to reinstate something like Smoot-Hawley now. Of course, this time we’d do it right :)

[ari-freedom]

it bothers me to see some self-identified conservatives who think we can improve the economy by taxing and regulating

[dfwgator]

"In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Depression, passed the... Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?... raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression."

[HardStarboard]

Looks like no one did the reading assignment. Come prepared next time people! Class dismissed.

[Old North State]

Yes, the economists were right about the deleterious effect of the tariff, although as Milton Friedman demonstrated, the cause of the depression was a massive constriction of the money supply not the tariff itself. But these same economists signed on the Keynesian dogma (government pump- priming as it was known) and the New Deal. The New Deal was a failure(economy was worse after FDR’s first term) and initiated the onset of massive government control of the economy, high taxes, price controls, etc. So let’s give them their due on Smoot-Hawley but remain skeptical about any claims of omniscience.

[taxed2death]

R. Reagan + tariff = saved Harley Davidson.

Cue “Apocalypse Now” movie:

“The Horror..............The Horror.........

Women and children hurt most.

[Redmen4ever]

You are correct. President Reagan engaged in a few instances of protectionism. The so-called voluntary trade restraints on textiles and automobiles come to mind.

Here’s what I’d say about that: The leader of a democratic nation ignores popular opinion not only to his own peril, but also to the peril of his long-term policy goals. Accordingly, it can be good to have small and temporary exceptions.

In assessing the accomplishment of Ronald Reagan, I’d say this: What was the NET movement in terms of inflation, taxes, deregulation, free trade, property rights, and so forth?