The point is that tariffs don't reverse the damage you see. If you have "huge parts of the country where industries no longer exist", slapping tariffs on things doesn't reverse that. Making steel more expensive, exclusively for American companies, doesn't suddenly revitalize our steel industry. Sure, it puts *some* steel workers back to work because *some* American industries must have steel, no matter the price. But those industries that rely on steel, after suffering price hikes, reduce their productivity and lay off more workers.heydaralon wrote: ↑Wed Jan 09, 2019 5:43 pm
I'm not arguing about the prices, I'm saying that these neoliberal economic policies have had large effects on huge swathes of the country. You mentioned trade-offs earlier. There are huge parts of the country where industries no longer exist. Many people working in those industries are now on welfare, disability, and have various substance abuse problems, which America also pays for. Yes, we are getting cheaper goods in the bargain, but we are still eating the cost in the form of a smaller labor pool paying taxes for these folks. That is a trade off and it does cost. In fact, the cost for some of that stuff has effects into the next generation, and these costs are not as easy to determine.
If the goal is to keep the number of laid-off workers to a minimum then tariffs are the wrong way to go.
https://books.google.com/books?id=oVaNB ... bs&f=false