Privileges and influence
RealClearPolitics - Articles - Trade Restrictions Stick it to Consumers
I am sympathetic with those who dislike the influence-peddling involved in selective tariff suspensions. But there’s an easy answer to that: Get rid of all tariffs permanently!A free and competitive economy — meaning free trade and no tariffs — is the best deal for consumers. So let’s get the politicians out of the way. If they have no privileges to dispense, no special interests will be lining up to influence them.
This is one of the bigger problems in the legislature today. They pretend to agree that we are all “equal under the law”, but then do crap like this. They pass tariffs on this item, or that. Give subsidies to this industry or that, or to this company or that. How is that “equal under the law” when all government actions are backed by force? When the government subsidizes the growing of corn, how is that fair to people that farm other crops? Or if the government subsidizes the Agriculture industry, how is that fair to, say, the automobile industry? When the government puts tariffs on items, they are protecting a product or class of products from competition, and that’s not good for anybody.