April 13, 2025
More on Tariffs and Such
UPDATE: I'm ideologically and philosophically skeptical of tariffs as a concept. However, free trade is a two way street, and there are countries that have tariffs on out goods of over 200%. So I'm at least open to the concept.
However, a trade war, particularly given how shaky the global economy is right now, it a quite scary prospect, so there are good arguments for not picking at this scab right now.
On the other hand it is vanishingly unlikely that there will ever be a time to reset global trade to something sane that will not involve risk. This is akin to the conundrum cities face with getting rid of rent control. Trump is term limited and no other president is likely to pursue this with any degree of enthusiasm, so a whole host of counterarguments can be made that it's now or never.
On the gripping hand the people crying most loudly about this are not folks who have been free traders historically, but are people who seem VERY upset at having their rice bowls tipped over. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is not a valid political strategy, but when our tormentors are THIS upset by something, that something should at least be looked at closely. While it is more likely that they are enraged at the loss of their cushy sinecures and their many investments at our expense, it is actually possible that their very different perspective on reality might have given them an insight into something that is a blind spot for us. Both possibilities need to be looked at, but time is running out.
The future is an unlit road, we are driving down it with no headlights and the gas pedal on the floor. Let us pray that the ultimate destination is pleasant, for the drive is likely to be bumpy.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
01:16 PM
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Lots and lots of change concepts right now are scary, to super scary. The problem is, 'somebody' screwed us over good with lockdown, BLM, and some other parallel disputes. Separately, one might be able to afford a negotiated and measured pace of political remedy. I can maybe walk away from my own desired to get my personal grievances remedied. But, the totality means that there is a faction that needs to give folks remedy in the form of accountability for other factions. It would actually be dangerous to Trump and Vance if they fail to quickly accomplish some form of decisive remedy. Tariffs are easier to do without breaking the constitution than many other things. The feds were originally funded on tariffs.
Posted by: PatBuckman at Wed Apr 16 12:13:22 2025 (rcPLc)
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