Posts Tagged ‘Tariffs’
Hypocrisy and Trade
As is common throughout history, when economic woes beset a people and policy makers are aloof to reality, it becomes pertinent to blame the foreigner for the ills of a self-inflicted wound. Such is the case today in the United States with a public debt surging past 16
19th century political cartoon charging Chinese labor with unemploying American labor. Found at notfrisco.com.
trillion dollars, 1.5 trillion dollar yearly deficits, QE1, QE2, Operation Twist, and financial/environmental regulations that are equivalent to committing economic suicide. It concomitantly becomes apparent to federal policy makers to perfect the foul Keynesian economic soup with a dash of trade war hypocrisy.
As of late the artificial devaluation of the Chinese yuan has become the scapegoat of the brainiacs in Washington. They argue that renminbi is devalued by at least 30%, and this devaluation is driving the Chinese export machine as a form of protectionism. This development is also to blame for our rather lopsided balance-of-trade. George Mason’s Dr. Walter E. Williams illuminates the latter charge far better than I, here.
So who are these leaders of the charge against China’s unfair advantage. Why it’s the American version of Cobden and Bright, Senators Charles Schumer and Sherrod Brown, both of whom have been harsh critics of unfair price manipulation. Except when it has to do with domestic tires, or steel. So senators like Schumer and Brown aren’t necessarily opposed to artificial price levels, just those that benefit foreigners at our expense; however, they are in favor of tariffs that benefit select American producers at the expense of all American consumers.
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Tyler Brown is a graduate student in History from Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He is a member of the Ole Miss Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty and a contributor to UMFreedom.com.
