Tariffs (taxes) on imports are bad for a country's citizens...

March 6, 2025 at 2:16 PM  ·  Comment — Bj Campbell's photo  ·  View on Facebook  ·  Markdown source

Tariffs (taxes) on imports are bad for a country's citizens regardless of what the governments of other countries do. If mobsters in the next town over charge citizens 20% "protection money" on all non-mob goods upon arrival, would you argue that _your_ town would benefit from a local mob charging your town's residents similar amounts of "protection money"? The only argument that makes a little sense is that the military needs to maintain local/friendly suppliers in the event of war. But that doesn't mean that tariffs are a good way to avoid enemy states controlling critical components in the military supply chain. If the USG must have a native supply chain, they can demand that all suppliers to the USG be based in the US. Some companies will step into the role (albeit almost certainly at a much higher than market price). Or the USG can demand that all critical components be sourced from multiple friendly countries. That way, if any one of them turns against the US, the supply can be maintained. It doesn't require that all buyers in the US be extorted with hefty new taxes. And many more companies would be located in the US in the first place, if nativist labor unions / companies hadn't successfully pushed for protectionist immigration suppression laws that make it costly/difficult to hire foreign born workers.