You are 100% correct. I think his tariff proposal is Trump’s worst policy stand. If he wins, I hope that it all quietly disappears (like most other Presidential campaign promises).
Agree with you Joseph. I don't know who needs to hear this, but if there is one consistent thread with the so called MAGA movement, it's boils down to this:
“Domestic”=Good
“Foreign”=Bad
There is no policy prescription other than to blame everything “bad” on outsiders (even if those outsiders are, in fact, domestic.) Pure ideologically driven nonsense that seeks to turn the US against the very cosmopolitan world that it helped build.
I find is incredibly worrying that many, otherwise intelligent individuals are buying into this simple, but false, narrative.
My dad is the same way. I have found that low information swing voters and republicans really struggle with understanding cause & effect, they just point at [insert bad thing] and say “it’s Bidens fault” with no theory of how/why or what Trump would to fix it.
Joseph, my question is how do you address the situation when other countries make uneconomic decisions by subsidizing production of goods, like solar panels for instance, and absolutely damage US industry. the consequences of the free trade/globalization years was that the US manufacturing capacity was significantly depleted as was made evident when Covid taught us that so much of what we use we buy from a strategic enemy/competitor.
Tariffs are certainly an imperfect policy, but what do you suggest otherwise. shall we subsidize all manufacturing and run 10% or 15% budget deficits going forward? clearly that cannot last for very long. so seriously, what do you suggest as a method to help reincentivize companies to produce in the US so we have strategic strength and a more robust manufacturing sector?
and remember, the reason Trump was elected in 2016 was because enough people in the US got sick of government employees and sycophants benefitting while their own lives deteriorated under those very globalist policies.
I am very interested to hear strategies that can thread this needle as I have not heard a single one yet.
Targeted subsidies, targeted tariffs, incentivizing American workers to work in these factories (there are various approaches to this), investment in technologies and research which could boost the productivity of these manufacturing processes, lifting regulatory burdens that make factory construction costs very high (NEPA!). That’s just off the top of my head. I agree it’s a complex issue, but let’s not allow that fact to make it seem like what Trump is proposing is evenly remotely a good idea.
Oh crap, I better vote for Kamala then! Especially after watching last night's VP debate. I'm all in with both feet. Thank goodness I saw this post before the election. Talk about a close shave!
You are 100% correct. I think his tariff proposal is Trump’s worst policy stand. If he wins, I hope that it all quietly disappears (like most other Presidential campaign promises).
It won't disappear.
Agree with you Joseph. I don't know who needs to hear this, but if there is one consistent thread with the so called MAGA movement, it's boils down to this:
“Domestic”=Good
“Foreign”=Bad
There is no policy prescription other than to blame everything “bad” on outsiders (even if those outsiders are, in fact, domestic.) Pure ideologically driven nonsense that seeks to turn the US against the very cosmopolitan world that it helped build.
I find is incredibly worrying that many, otherwise intelligent individuals are buying into this simple, but false, narrative.
Great post!!! If only I could get my mother to understand this.
Try trading the word "tariffs" for what it really is, "taxes."
Framing is key!
My dad is the same way. I have found that low information swing voters and republicans really struggle with understanding cause & effect, they just point at [insert bad thing] and say “it’s Bidens fault” with no theory of how/why or what Trump would to fix it.
Joseph, my question is how do you address the situation when other countries make uneconomic decisions by subsidizing production of goods, like solar panels for instance, and absolutely damage US industry. the consequences of the free trade/globalization years was that the US manufacturing capacity was significantly depleted as was made evident when Covid taught us that so much of what we use we buy from a strategic enemy/competitor.
Tariffs are certainly an imperfect policy, but what do you suggest otherwise. shall we subsidize all manufacturing and run 10% or 15% budget deficits going forward? clearly that cannot last for very long. so seriously, what do you suggest as a method to help reincentivize companies to produce in the US so we have strategic strength and a more robust manufacturing sector?
and remember, the reason Trump was elected in 2016 was because enough people in the US got sick of government employees and sycophants benefitting while their own lives deteriorated under those very globalist policies.
I am very interested to hear strategies that can thread this needle as I have not heard a single one yet.
Targeted subsidies, targeted tariffs, incentivizing American workers to work in these factories (there are various approaches to this), investment in technologies and research which could boost the productivity of these manufacturing processes, lifting regulatory burdens that make factory construction costs very high (NEPA!). That’s just off the top of my head. I agree it’s a complex issue, but let’s not allow that fact to make it seem like what Trump is proposing is evenly remotely a good idea.
Oh crap, I better vote for Kamala then! Especially after watching last night's VP debate. I'm all in with both feet. Thank goodness I saw this post before the election. Talk about a close shave!