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Bush raised tariffs on lumber and steel. Tariffs are federal taxes. Everything you buy that’s made of wood or steel costs more now. These taxes are huge compared to the puny cuts.

I am not a tax expert, but aren't tariffs taxes on imports? If imported lumber and steel means I have to pay more for them, wouldn't that encourage me to buy more of our own lumber and steel? Wouldn't that boost our own country's lumber and steel companies production, the very companies the greenies have been trying to get shut down for years? Do you suppose greenies buy much lumber and steel?

Please continue, educate me. Unfortunately I do not have time to stay here and finish this with you now, but I will try to return to read more later.

This author would have been better to have included more specifics into his piece instead of just broad brush sweeping generalizations, imo. There is much to be learned from discussion of the specifics. When the author's entire piece is presented as one sweeping generalization about how bad Bush is and how most Bush supporters are blind voters, why would anyone, especially mainstream conservatives, want to bother to respond?

The debate over tariffs is a debate over competition. If domestic products have to compete with lower cost imports it drives the price down.

Competition drives prices down. This leaves more money available for other purchases.

This is what the whole free trade argument boils down to.

But no matter how you look at it tariffs are taxes. Raising tariffs is raising taxes.

Wouldn't that boost our own country's lumber and steel companies production, the very companies the greenies have been trying to get shut down for years? Do you suppose greenies buy much lumber and steel?

The 'free traders' reason as if the world economy was some kind of a 'perfect market' where people, goods, services and information move freely and efficiently and nations and states don't count. Of course, this is not the case. Some of our trading partners are our present or future enemies. Most other nations are protecting their own economies and while losing 1000 jobs here while gaining 1000 jobs in China may be a 'zero sum' on a global scale it happens to be a net loss for the U.S. and a net gain for China, helping this COMMUNIST regime get better at spreading its communist values internally and abroad.