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No, it isn't. If our actions have consequences, we need to consider them. If implementing tariffs will hurt us b/c other countries retaliate, we shouldn't blindly go ahead.
Some countries are already retaliating without any tariff. Do you know how hard it is to get American made goods into China, Japan, and other Asian countries? They have very protective markets, only over there they don't have the "bleeding hearts" panicking over how America will retaliate because they know we are too stupid to figure out how to.
I think the fear of tariff retaliation is over-exaggerated. Remember, the purpose of a tariff is not to eliminate imports. The government would actually want the imports to stay high because they can earn a lot of revenue from the tariff (like I mentioned earlier, tariffs used to comprise 1/2 of Federal revenue). The tariff would benefit American manufacturers and American workers by protecting their markets and jobs.
Of course we shouldn't just blindly impose 10000% tariff on all imports and tell the rest of the world to "Go to hell". I hope you didn't think that is what I was implying. Of course tariffs would be implemented gradually so as not to cause great disruptions in the marketplace. But the ultimate goal would be to insure that at least half (or some other reasonable %) of all goods sold in the US would be American made by American companies and American workers. The goal would not be to decimate industries in other countries, but to protect ours first and then let other nations share in the wealth second.
I don't know enough to form an educated opinion on whether your plan would work. As long as you agree that we need to consider international consequences, I'll leave that argument to others.
I don't know enough to form an educated opinion on whether your plan would work. As long as you agree that we need to consider international consequences, I'll leave that argument to others.
To the degree that we are primarily concerned with protecting our industries and secondarily concerned with possible consequences, I think we can find agreement. Unfortunately, I've found too many people dismiss tariffs outright based on speculative retaliatory responses, and don't even want to acknowledge that American manufacturing is worthy of protection.
Umm....what exactly is this a solution to? Even if the US trade deficit vanished you'd still have to deal with technological realities, modern technology has become so sophisticated that most jobs can be automated the minute people start getting "living wages".
If the USA started to make cheap plastic junk again it wouldn't be made by people, instead machines.
But also, what do Americans know about Manufacturing these days? Not much. The Chinese, Japanese, etc out innovated Americans in manufacturing. If Americans want it back they are going to have to innovate and I'm sure the iPhone, etc obsessed youth are going to drop their gadgets and start thinking about manufacturing tomorrow....
We import more than cheap plastic junk... that was in the 80's.
We now import things like food, clothing, building materials, appliances, tools, electronics, safety equipment, cabinetry, carpet, glass ware, cars, processing equipment (which the chinese stuff is really crap).
Spend some time on china export sites.
To whittle down to plastic is naive/silly.
Americans created manufacturing as it is today. Germany also.
Why is Germany the most financially successful country in the EU?
Some countries are already retaliating without any tariff. Do you know how hard it is to get American made goods into China, Japan, and other Asian countries? They have very protective markets, only over there they don't have the "bleeding hearts" panicking over how America will retaliate because they know we are too stupid to figure out how to.
I think the fear of tariff retaliation is over-exaggerated. Remember, the purpose of a tariff is not to eliminate imports. The government would actually want the imports to stay high because they can earn a lot of revenue from the tariff (like I mentioned earlier, tariffs used to comprise 1/2 of Federal revenue). The tariff would benefit American manufacturers and American workers by protecting their markets and jobs.
Of course we shouldn't just blindly impose 10000% tariff on all imports and tell the rest of the world to "Go to hell". I hope you didn't think that is what I was implying. Of course tariffs would be implemented gradually so as not to cause great disruptions in the marketplace. But the ultimate goal would be to insure that at least half (or some other reasonable %) of all goods sold in the US would be American made by American companies and American workers. The goal would not be to decimate industries in other countries, but to protect ours first and then let other nations share in the wealth second.
A+ on this and the prior.
Cannot rep you more points, yet.
Do you follow the sheer ignorance of the full Stop ONLY or Full Go ONLY we are supposed to have to make on this topic?
The Globalony Free Traders just start foaming at the mouth about the idea of any sort of Tariff that would stop the US from bleeding to death on Transnational Corporate trade -- which is mostly tax free, btw.
And then comes the BS and lies.
Take the cited farce example in this thread -- 1922 and how that hit agriculture. Even the slightest background check would give the information that Ag had Already Been Hit . . . not due a tariff, but rather the end of WW1. Germany, France and England were back in the Ag Business (duh!) Even some simple info from Wiki gives this background >>>
Quote:
The first sector of the economy that was hit by a fall in post-war demand was agriculture. During World War I, the American agricultural industry enjoyed prosperity, through the raising of prices which led to increased output which Americans used to supply Europe. Some of the post war problems for the American agriculture come from the great surplus of farm goods that could not be absorbed in the national market, because European countries had recovered sufficiently from the war, and their markets no longer required large quantities of American agricultural products. Gross farm income in 1919 amounted to $17.7 billion.
By 1921, exports to Europe had plummeted and farm income fell to $10.5 billion. Other sectors of the economy wanted to avoid a similar fate. [more]
THAT was 1921. Before the Tariff. Sooooo. as in all these discussions -- how does an event precede that which is supposed cause it? Real mystery, there.
And in all the common (mis) cites of tariffs harming US -- the US was generally a Net Exporter. NOW is a whole different world. We are a Net Importer.
So of course, now, a reasonable, balanced trade tariff would be good for US. When the trade imbalance goes to zero, the tariff goes to zero. As do the Transnational Corporation profits from the Global Plantation model.
So do you figure the folks that argue against US Balanced Trade Tariffs:
A) Work for Wal-Mart?
B) Work for Dollar (this or that) Store?
or
C) Are products of a US MBA program? (and actually believe their nonsense).
Why is Germany the most financially successful country in the EU?
They make stuff.
But why is Germany a manufacturing leader?
The article I linked to earlier lists education, labor practices, and healthcare/tort/tax reform as some main factors behind our failure relative to Germany.
The article I linked to earlier lists education, labor practices, and healthcare/tort/tax reform as some main factors behind our failure relative to Germany.
They also don't waste their treasure going after others resources or sending their people into wars of "National Interests".
Do you follow the sheer ignorance of the full Stop ONLY or Full Go ONLY we are supposed to have to make on this topic?
The Globalony Free Traders just start foaming at the mouth about the idea of any sort of Tariff that would stop the US from bleeding to death on Transnational Corporate trade -- which is mostly tax free, btw.
And then comes the BS and lies.
Take the cited farce example in this thread -- 1922 and how that hit agriculture. Even the slightest background check would give the information that Ag had Already Been Hit . . . not due a tariff, but rather the end of WW1. Germany, France and England were back in the Ag Business (duh!) Even some simple info from Wiki gives this background >>>
THAT was 1921. Before the Tariff. Sooooo. as in all these discussions -- how does an event precede that which is supposed cause it? Real mystery, there.
And in all the common (mis) cites of tariffs harming US -- the US was generally a Net Exporter. NOW is a whole different world. We are a Net Importer.
So of course, now, a reasonable, balanced trade tariff would be good for US. When the trade imbalance goes to zero, the tariff goes to zero. As do the Transnational Corporation profits from the Global Plantation model.
So do you figure the folks that argue against US Balanced Trade Tariffs:
A) Work for Wal-Mart?
B) Work for Dollar (this or that) Store?
or
C) Are products of a US MBA program? (and actually believe their nonsense).
The first two at least know what they are doing.
Selling US out -- for less.
Wow, Philip T, like I said in my rep comment to you, in all the years that I've been debating the Tariff, you are the FIRST person who actually has agreed with me! I feel redeemed!
Great point on the 1920's agriculture. What is also not considered by many is that during that time there was a great transition from horse transportation to the automobile/trucks (and even horse drawn rail streetcars to electric powered). About 1/4 to 1/3 of all agricultural lands were devoted to growing feed for horses used in tansportation.
It is a pleasure to read posts from people who make an awful lot of sense.
M P 2 R
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