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| Catherine Rampell |
The below clip, by Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post, is an excellent explainer on why trade is good and trade deficits don't matter.
It correctly labels President Trump as a 17th-century mercantilism.
Mercantilism should have died with wooden teeth.
-RW
I don't mind attacking Trump for his idiotic understanding of trade, but tariffs are just a specific case of the state using force to favor some producers over others, and over consumers. Every crony-capitalist domestic regulation, monopoly privilege, subsidy, etc. is of the same piece. What gets me most are those who (rightly) excoriate Trump over the tariffs, but then don't do the same for their favored politicians when it comes to these other things. No, in these areas, their favorites are thoughtfully "nudging," "creating jobs," "making tough choices," etc.
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