tariffs

Economists Whiffed Tariffs Precisely Because They Whiffed Inflation

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They’re both wrong. Who is? Trump supporters who’ve long defended mindless tariffs, along with economists wisely against mindless tariffs, but who now claim they didn’t really mean what they said about President Trump’s tariffs at the time.  Take a recent letter-to-the-editor at the Wall Street Journal by economists Scott Burns and Caleb Fuller, professors respectively at Southeastern Louisiana […]

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With Tariffs and Trade, the Trump Administration Takes a Positive Step

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President Trump is happily overstepping the naivete that informs so much economic commentary. While the experts continue to look to the Federal Reserve to bring down prices via the tweaking of interest rates, Trump wisely chose to provide reciprocal tariff relief for so-called “unavailable natural resources,” e.g., agricultural products that cannot be grown at commercial scale

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$37 Trillion: The Screaming Tell About the Futility of Budgetary Balance

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“Those of us who call ourselves Republicans have a choice to make: We can choose to stand for our historic principles, or we can continue on the road to angry populism.” Those are the words of former U.S. Senator John Danforth (R-MO) and Rina Shah, respectively founder and senior adviser of Our Republican Legacy. Danforth and Shah

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When the U.S. Takes a Break From Reality, Millions Don’t Eat

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“Recession” is a relative concept. For instance, when the U.S. economy contracts such that Americans merely tighten their belts, hundreds of millions around the world face starvation. If you doubt this, consider the global implications of the U.S. mindlessly going into lockdown mode in 2020. Not only was economic contraction as a virus mitigation

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Would You Cheer for Tariffs on Sure-Fire Cancer Cures?

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The New York Times reported last week that Legend Biotech has developed a potential cure for the incurable and brutally painful disease known as multiple myeloma. It raises a question: would readers accept tariffs on Legend’s drugs if the corporation weren’t based in Somerset, NJ? Clown question. Cancer in its various forms takes the

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Trump Cannot Quiet Reality, Neither Can the Federal Reserve

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President Trump recently warned Walmart to not raise prices in response to his imposition of tariffs. Economists and pundits reacted to Trump’s warning with a mix of horror and haughty disdain. With good reason. Mindless as tariffs are, the foolishness of tariff imposition is magnified when the individual behind the implementation demands that prices

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There’s No Such Thing As ‘Exorbitant Privilege,’ There’s Just Production

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Debt is an effect of wealth, not desperation. That’s true for individuals and corporations, but also governments. The power of compounding vivifies this truth, and explains why Apple has lots of debt but the corner store doesn’t, and the U.S. has tens of trillions of debt, but Haiti next to nothing. The Washington Post’s

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Even If Trump Gets Them to ‘Zero,’ Americans Will Be Worse Off

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“What will you say about Trump and his tariffs if he gets high-tariff countries to zero?” Trump supporters have asked the previous question endless times since “Liberation Day” and surely before. The answer is simple: we’ll be worse off. We will be because the question is nonsensical. Americans will be the losers of Trump’s

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What’s So Great About the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’?

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Particularly amid the economic difficulties brought on by President Trump’s tariffs, there’s growing urgency within the Republican Party to mitigate the tariff damage with an extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Unknown is why. The tax cuts were Keynesian in design, hence not economically stimulative. Evidence supporting the above claim

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Thanks to Markets, We Don’t Need ‘Wait-and-See’ With Trump Tariffs

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Before investor Bill Ackman requested from President Trump a pause on his tariffs, he perhaps reasonably observed that Trump deserved the benefit of the doubt, that he’s often forged another path to right to the surprise of his critics, and that investors should support him. Pundits who follow Ackman, including New Criterion editor Roger Kimball, agreed with Ackman

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