The issue is not the state having control, if we set things up right.
That is where the issue resides however.
If the government’s control over things increases as a result I completely agree with you that there is no benefit to it other than bringing back US jobs (a good goal however)
I’m not advocating increased government control.
What that means is, every single thing imported into America will need to be tariffed - and every tariff much be exactly the same as every other import tariff.
What I am saying is everything imported, is levied exactly the (precisely) identical size taxation.
Imported oil. Imported food. Imported fishing equipment. Imported tools. Everything which is made outside of America.
If this were done, there would be ZERO government growth.
But there would be a very large, and very real effect on US manufacturing.
I say bring back US jobs.
Offset, of course, by considerable loss of purchasing power by consumers and companies, and resultant job loss.
IOW, somebody who must spend considerably more of their money on clothes, tools and fishing equipment because imports have been subjected to high tariffs will have less money available for things such as Starbucks or eating out at a nice place.
What I am saying is that any policy such as you propose would by definition result in both job losses and job creation. The net effect, which I don't claim to be able to predict, may not necessarily be as positive as you expect.
I have always been amazed by the way people will sneer at lower prices whereas nobody sneers at higher income. Yet a 10% drop in the cost of what I must buy due to the availability of imports is more valuable to me than a 10% increase in wages.
I also think you gloss over the loss of freedom imposed by protective tariffs as unimportant as long as it doesn't result in a larger government. So is a larger government bad in and of itself, or because it is likely to lead to reduced freedom? If the second, aren't other ways of reducing freedom also bad?
If this were done, there would be ZERO government growth.
How high would this tax be? After the drop in our standard of living, how do you stop the government from increasing in size, to make up the shortfall?