[harpseal]

Using government to artificially raise the price of goods isn't going to help us, it's going to lower are living standards

I guess that government interference in foreign trade being bad only applies to the US government. Every foreign government gets a pass becuase they subsidize exports to drive American industry out of teh market place so they can then exercise monoply or political power from the end result.

Now I challenged you before to rpovide some quantitative evidence that a tariff does not provide a net benefit to teh USA I have previuously provided you a link to a multiple regression analysis showing a tariff did provide a benefit net to the USA. There are others. If your statement is true about a tariff lowering teh standard of living then someone should be able to back it up with evidence.

[Gunslingr3]

I guess that government interference in foreign trade being bad only applies to the US government.

Guess again (I realize you're being facetious). Quoth Reagan, "If one partner shoots a hole in the bottom of the boat, does it make sense for the other partner to shoot another hole in the boat?" Their machinations do impact us all negatively, I just want to avoid compounding the problem.

Now I challenged you before to rpovide some quantitative evidence that a tariff does not provide a net benefit to teh USA

And I tried to explain to you that net benefits cannot be weighed. How do you tell how much wealth I could generate with the money were it not taken in tariffs? How do you tell what businesses I would have funded? How do you count what I couldn't afford, after paying your tariff? It's easy to point at the steel plant and say, "We saved those 4,000 jobs!" It's impossible to see how many jobs are lost in all other industries that consider steel a resource and a cost in the production cycle because the steel they require is more expensive. It's impossible to measure that which doesn't get purchased because the resources to purchase it are taxed away to feed bureaucrats. Anyone puporting to 'show' you otherwise is capitalizing on your naivete and belief that others are possessed of an omniscience you lack.

My faith is in the natural tendency of man to settle his wants by trading effort with other men, and I realize he's better able to do that without bureaucrats riding on his back and being paid to produce nothing. I have seen firsthand the ruin that government management of trade has wrought.