China Announces That It Is Going To Stop Stockpiling U.S. Dollars

DC Clothesline ^ | 11/22/2013 | Michael Snyder

[skeeter]

That is extremely interesting, thanks.

[Paul R.]

Everyone who constantly repeats the tariff and “bring back the jobs” mantras need to start a small business somewhere making something ubiquitous that is now imported.

With so many people unemployed, many of them engineers and financial services people, it stands to reason that _some_ of them would have, by now, taken their expertise and started a domestic business. Likely, many have tried. Perhaps a few have succeeded, only to discover the huge target they now have on their backs.

About all you can do these days is buy yourself a job, either making something or providing some service that can’t be exported. But you need to have no employees, use nothing that could be classified as a chemical, be located remotely and use as little water and energy as possible in the process.

Bullseye.

That closely parallels my own path & experience, the last 25 years, including your last paragraph.

[Paul R.]

My apologies, CNN - since I referred to you in my post 120, I should have included you as a recipient.

[reformedliberal]

Thanks for the affirmation. It is how we have lived, as well.
I wrote from experience.

[Paul R.]

It would also lower FedGov™ dependency on income taxes.

Wrong.

That will not happen unless either:

1) You can get and keep a Tea Party Congress (both House and Senate) as well as the Presidency for however long the tariffs are in place. (I am here assuming the Tea Party would reduce income taxes by the same amount as projected revenues from the tariffs. And I am assuming said Tea Party, once in power, would not be corrupted as has most of the GOP.) Of course if the tariffs are successful, they will, like "deterrent" level cigarette taxes, generate less revenue every subsequent year.

or;

2) The tariffs crash the economy and lower income taxes are enacted to try to revive it.

Assuming neither "1" or "2" occur:

Higher tariffs might reduce the Federal income tax as a % of Federal revenue, but they will not reduce Federal income tax as a % out of the economy, or in absolute money confiscated from taxpayers, because the added money from tariffs will simply be used to grow the gov't.

Why? How?

Tariffs are essentially hidden taxes, sort of like the front end of a VAT. They'd be most politicians' wet dream, were not the other negatives so high. (This includes negatives to the politicians -- I should not need to spell them out.)

I'm afraid that you completely ignore the history and nature of (most) Government.

[citizen]

Bfl

[central_va]

I’m afraid you are just another income tax loving progressive.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Thanks.

America needs to start taking the lead, and building things once again.

That is my point. How we do that, is a subject for discussion, but we need to do that.

[Paul R.]

Where do you come up with that? I DETEST income taxes, for many reasons. One of those reasons is withholding (for most people), instead of everyone having to write out the check(s) to the gov’t (as I do with estimated tax payments every quarter.) I’d MUCH prefer a national end-consumer sales tax, clearly shown on every receipt.

[central_va]

If you support open trade and zero tariffs you are defacto supporting the income tax.

You can deny it all you want but it is fact. Due to the disruptive nature and adverse impact on the middle class low and/or no import tariffs are part of the progressive/communist agenda "Komrade". You should know that.

[Paul R.]

If you support open trade and zero tariffs you are defacto supporting the income tax.

Wrong. I oppose both income taxes and most (but not all) high tariffs. Neither are sensible or (as presently implemented / apply to most people) honest ways to fund the gov't. What I support is an end-consumer national sales tax.

Due to the disruptive nature and adverse impact on the middle class low and/or no import tariffs are part of the progressive/communist agenda "Komrade".

Having been a (sort of) white collar but middle class citizen heavily involved in various aspects of manufacturing for many years, and having rather painfully and directly experienced the "adverse impacts on the middle class" personally, I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of looking for a simple solution to the problem of a weakened middle class. Unfortunately for the middle class, there are far more powerful forces at work than a lack of import tariffs.

Incidentally, the people I worked with and discussed these issues with were not a bunch of academics: They were highly practical, mostly middle class conservative people who sure as heck didn't want to lose their jobs or small businesses. But we generally (with certain specific situational exceptions) concluded that blanketing imports with high tariffs was at best a wash in the short through medium term, and looking further out, almost certainly detrimental if maintained in a general fashion in the long run. Milton Friedman concluded much the same, in much greater depth. If you want to call us all "Komrades", well, fine. It certainly demonstrates the strength of your argument.