Do We Need To Bring Back Tariffs On Imports?

Do We Need To Bring Back Tariffs On Imported Goods?

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 39.3%
  • No

    Votes: 35 57.4%
  • Undecided

    Votes: 2 3.3%

  • Total voters
    61
  • Poll closed .
Well this is the best argument that's been put forth in favor of tariffs. Much better than the, "they took our jobs" argument that been posed by others. I could support a small flat tariff system if it was the only form of taxation to fund a limited Constitutional Government. However, we have enough taxes at the moment, so tariffs are not needed. I would prefer a small VAT as the only tax, as I believe it distorts markets the least (obviously no taxes would be best, but i don't think that's possible).

Thank you!
 
I just finished reading Where The Right Went Wrong by Pat Buchanan and I'm very convinced tariffs should be reestablished (at least for a short period). Free trade does sound nice, but America is at a huge disadvantage in the global economy. Jobs "shipped" overseas are done so because labor is cheaper and regulations are lower. With corporate taxes, minimum wage laws, and regulations out the yin-yang we just can't compete. Until we loosen the chains on our national market I think it should be protected from the international market.
 
24 people voted yes? :(

How can we expect more people to understand liberty and economics when so many people who are already here don't?
 
China is a problem & its because theyre Communist. The solution to such a problem would to have stronger production of goods & services here in America so that the people of the other country go to their governments to repeal the tariffs so they can have access to our higher quality goods/services at a cheaper price.

BUT

They're a bunch of Chi-Coms over there and their government doesn't care about what works for their people but what works for their government. Since they could care less about human rights, they are able to produce their goods so cheaply. So what that they pay a slight tariff on goods they ship here, they're produced so cheaply that it doesnt matter. Similar situation with them globalizing to Mexico. Though they pay higher wages to Mexican workers, they dont have to pay tariffs on those goods/services, so they still come out in front.

Free trade works best when it is had with all nations. Communists are a problem with trade because we can never truly have free trade with Communists.

At least our people benefit from the cheap goods & services produced by China, though it hurts American businesses who cant keep up with those low costs of production at home (dumping) or overseas because of their tariffs over there. Thats why we need free trade. Free trade is fair trade.

The solution to such a problem is technology. We need technologies to increase production. We need to produce technologies that other countries need but dont have.

In conclusion, China sucks.
 
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I just finished reading Where The Right Went Wrong by Pat Buchanan and I'm very convinced tariffs should be reestablished (at least for a short period). Free trade does sound nice, but America is at a huge disadvantage in the global economy. Jobs "shipped" overseas are done so because labor is cheaper and regulations are lower. With corporate taxes, minimum wage laws, and regulations out the yin-yang we just can't compete. Until we loosen the chains on our national market I think it should be protected from the international market.

Yeah, Buchanan changed my mind on the issue.
 
Just because China does not have to deal with the EPA and other regulations, they can make and sell their products at a lower cost. Just how is the U.S. supposed to compete when manufacturers have to spend so much money to comply with the mandated regulations?

China can pollute their environment and they have no problem with it.... here if we pollute the environment, there are fines and other problems imposed upon those who do.

I'm not saying we need to start polluting our environment to compete but rather if the other countries don't have to keep from polluting their environment and can out produce us because of that, then we should at least make them pay the difference they would have paid if they had been environmentally conscious when making their product.
 
24 people voted yes? :(

How can we expect more people to understand liberty and economics when so many people who are already here don't?

I think it's you who doesn't understand economics or even human nature, sweetie. For example, the American steel mills were killed by a combination of other countries dumping their steel, sold below their cost, on us and a weak kneed American government who refused to put tariffs on it until it was too late.

Free trade is a great theory, but it doesn't freaking work when you have people who will willingly sacrifice short term gains for long term advantages.

It doesn't work when the playing field isn't level.

Free trade sucks. Fair trade is what we need, and fair trade involves tariffs.
 
I think it's you who doesn't understand economics or even human nature, sweetie. For example, the American steel mills were killed by a combination of other countries dumping their steel, sold below their cost, on us and a weak kneed American government who refused to put tariffs on it until it was too late.

Free trade is a great theory, but it doesn't freaking work when you have people who will willingly sacrifice short term gains for long term advantages.

It doesn't work when the playing field isn't level.

Free trade sucks. Fair trade is what we need, and fair trade involves tariffs.


The excessive taxes and regulations are what put American manufacturers out of business or running overseas- and that's why foreign countries are able to provide us with cheaper products. Not because they "Sold below their cost"- predatory pricing is an extremely suicidal strategy that has failed when tried. International manufacturers today provide cheaper products because they have less regulations- and at times better production methods. It is a complete joke to think tariffs are going to solve the problem of less american manufacturing jobs at home.

There is no such thing as "Fair trade". Something like "fair trade" is only fair to one party- and unfair to another. Why shouldn't I be allowed to buy cheaper international products if I want to? What we have today isn't even free trade- its "managed trade". Managed trade is what sucks- free trade is what we need- and it doesn't involve tariffs that rob money from people that are trying to conduct business with each other.
 
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I just finished reading Where The Right Went Wrong by Pat Buchanan and I'm very convinced tariffs should be reestablished (at least for a short period). Free trade does sound nice, but America is at a huge disadvantage in the global economy. Jobs "shipped" overseas are done so because labor is cheaper and regulations are lower. With corporate taxes, minimum wage laws, and regulations out the yin-yang we just can't compete. Until we loosen the chains on our national market I think it should be protected from the international market.

How about just focus on loosening the chains on our national market then? That is the real solution. There's no reason to force consumers here at home to suffer higher prices because foreign markets are free from intervention. Without the foreign manufacturers- American manufacturers would still be doing badly- and would still have moved overseas.
 
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tariffs are a bad idea...kind of interferes with something i like to call "free trade."

The problem is that people confuse "free trade agreements' with actual free trade. Actual free trade doesn't need thousands of pages of documents with rules and regulations that the free trade agreements have. We DO NOT have free trade- so please do not blame the problems we have today on free trade.
 
Yeah we need tariffs badly. Until the USA gets its manufacturing base back again then there is no hope for a lasting meaningful turn around for this nation. A nation that doesn't produce things is a nation that is doomed to fall. History shows that time and time again. We are only following the same road countless other empires have already traveled. You would think at some point people would learn something from history and not repeat the same old mistakes time and time again.
 
I think it's you who doesn't understand economics or even human nature, sweetie.

Feel free to be condescending and wrong, but two things:

1) By your logic, Ron Paul "doesn't understand economics or even human nature" either. He destroyed bogus arguments like yours long ago.

So you supported someone for president who you must believe "doesn't understand economics or even human nature". What were you thinking?

2) See http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=565530

Oh and the socialists are already using the term "fair trade". Unlike your policy, theirs is generally voluntary.
 
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Tariffs would insure that we never get our manufacturing base back, everything will be even that much more expensive to start new manufacturing plants. What we need is less governmetn in the way, preferably none at all.
 
The problem is that people confuse "free trade agreements' with actual free trade. Actual free trade doesn't need thousands of pages of documents with rules and regulations that the free trade agreements have. We DO NOT have free trade- so please do not blame the problems we have today on free trade.

What are you talking about? I think it's pretty well known here that we don't have free trade and that trade agreements prohibit free trade. It's also pretty well known tariffs aren't a great decision.
 
Feel free to be condescending and wrong, but two things:

1) By your logic, Ron Paul "doesn't understand economics or even human nature" either. He destroyed bogus arguments like yours long ago.

So you supported someone for president who you must believe "doesn't understand economics or even human nature". What were you thinking?

2) See http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=565530

Oh and the socialists are already using the term "fair trade". Unlike your policy, theirs is generally voluntary.

Angletec might want to do a little more research. Pat Buchanan isn't exactly an economist by any stretch of the imagination. I'd take anything he says with a grain of salt. Maybe she should go check out the Mises site or something.
 
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