4/3/2025 at 3:59:08 PM
It's true that free trade is hugely beneficial to the US economy as a whole, particularly with the USD being the reserve currency.The flow of goods is balanced by a flow of US dollars to other countries, which are ultimately cycled back into the US financial system - enabling budget deficits and an abundance of capital to invest in high growth industries.
The flip side of this is that it also drives inequality - the upside of this system is felt by the entrepreneurs, investors and high-skill employees in tech and finance, while the downside is concentrated with low-skill workers whose jobs are offshored to lower wage countries.
The obvious solution is not to hurt the economy as a whole, but rather for the government to lower the cost of high-quality education, build out social systems, and invest into onshoring select strategic industries by raising taxes at the high end.
As such, this administration's policies are foolish, but many on this very site would need to give up a little bit of their privilege to reduce the pain felt by many of their fellow citizens.
That is something that in the current American political climate seems a nearly impossible sell.
by svara
4/3/2025 at 5:03:13 PM
> but many on this very site would need to give up a little bit of their privilege to reduce the pain felt by many of their fellow citizens.Agreed. However, by imposing tariffs it is not the privileged who are going to be affected the most. The pain is felt most by the low-skill workers you mentioned earlier.
If the solution was instead along the lines of changing tax-brackets to tax the 'privileged' more, that might have better addressed the problem you mention in the beginning.
by keithxm23
4/4/2025 at 3:14:32 AM
Not only are the poor going to bear the brunt of these tariffs, but this has been tried multiple times before, and failed. As in, catastrophic failure."Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it"
People should check out all the tariff insanity before and during the period of The Great Depression. That includes the justifications given.
by baranul