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Tariffs: The Taxes That Made America Great?
May 14, 2019 15:49:08   #
ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island
 
Interesting article in ZeroHedge with the above named title - https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-14/tariffs-taxes-made-america-great

As a consumer, I love the fact that I can purchase goods that cost less due to lower labor costs.

As an American citizen, I am sorry that we have lost so many manufacturing jobs to other countries that have lower labor costs. I am sorry that many American citizens are not able to earn a decent wage in the manufacturing sector, and that we have become so dependent on countries like China for so many critical things that we no longer make in this country.

Is the article correct in it's premise that Tariffs made America great, and is it a tradeoff that Americans would be willing to make in order to bring manufacturing back into this country?

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May 14, 2019 15:52:57   #
bahmer
 
ACP45 wrote:
Interesting article in ZeroHedge with the above named title - https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-14/tariffs-taxes-made-america-great

As a consumer, I love the fact that I can purchase goods that cost less due to lower labor costs.

As an American citizen, I am sorry that we have lost so many manufacturing jobs to other countries that have lower labor costs. I am sorry that many American citizens are not able to earn a decent wage in the manufacturing sector, and that we have become so dependent on countries like China for so many critical things that we no longer make in this country.

Is the article correct in it's premise that Tariffs made America great, and is it a tradeoff that Americans would be willing to make in order to bring manufacturing back into this country?
Interesting article in ZeroHedge with the above na... (show quote)


Amen and Amen

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May 14, 2019 16:06:50   #
woodguru
 
ACP45 wrote:
Interesting article in ZeroHedge with the above named title - https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-14/tariffs-taxes-made-america-great

As a consumer, I love the fact that I can purchase goods that cost less due to lower labor costs.

As an American citizen, I am sorry that we have lost so many manufacturing jobs to other countries that have lower labor costs. I am sorry that many American citizens are not able to earn a decent wage in the manufacturing sector, and that we have become so dependent on countries like China for so many critical things that we no longer make in this country.

Is the article correct in it's premise that Tariffs made America great, and is it a tradeoff that Americans would be willing to make in order to bring manufacturing back into this country?
Interesting article in ZeroHedge with the above na... (show quote)


During the Bush years we lost 25 million jobs, manufacturers moved overseas and the government facilitated it with policies that subsidized their move and rewards them in tax breaks and write offs.

The loss of jobs could be easily reversed, punish corporations with overseas manufacturing entities, make it painfully expensive, reverse subsidize them for bringing jobs back. If Trump can pay farmers he's hurt with tariffs 30 billion dollars we can put tens of billions into bringing jobs back.

Here's a few things that are no brainers...
...no write offs on any expenses associated with the overseas entities, no travel, management, condos
...tariff them and their goods
...help them with the expenses of moving back

Make it to where they are making less profit than they could here

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May 14, 2019 16:41:16   #
lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas
 
ACP45 wrote:
Interesting article in ZeroHedge with the above named title - https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-14/tariffs-taxes-made-america-great

As a consumer, I love the fact that I can purchase goods that cost less due to lower labor costs.

As an American citizen, I am sorry that we have lost so many manufacturing jobs to other countries that have lower labor costs. I am sorry that many American citizens are not able to earn a decent wage in the manufacturing sector, and that we have become so dependent on countries like China for so many critical things that we no longer make in this country.

Is the article correct in it's premise that Tariffs made America great, and is it a tradeoff that Americans would be willing to make in order to bring manufacturing back into this country?
Interesting article in ZeroHedge with the above na... (show quote)


The US government does not trade, it makes nothing. Corporations trade, for the purpose of making money. Remember the adage " buy low, sell high"?, that's how you make a profit. Profit is the difference between what a "thing" costs to make, and what it sells for. The cost to make includes materials, payroll, shipping, warehousing and anything else required to deliver a product to the end user. Moving manufacturing out of the country often saves on payroll and cost of materials, thus increasing profit.

Tariffs are not a tax on the countries targeted, it is a tax on Americans who purchase stuff from the targeted country. Tariffs are an IMPORT tax and not a dime is paid by the targeted country, unless that country subsidizes the businesses affected, to offset the cost of the tariff. US businesses that import materials or products from China pay the tariff, not China, and will have to pass those costs on to the consumer, i.e. American citizens.

This trade war has little to do with the Chinese government, it is an attempt to modify the behavior of American citizens and businesses by penalizing them for purchasing Chinese stuff. If Trump believes that the Chinese government can order it's people to buy more stuff from America, why not use executive actions to order Americans and American businesses to buy only American stuff?

China is not being penalized............................Americans are.

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May 15, 2019 05:41:31   #
ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island
 
lpnmajor wrote:
The US government does not trade, it makes nothing. Corporations trade, for the purpose of making money. Remember the adage " buy low, sell high"?, that's how you make a profit. Profit is the difference between what a "thing" costs to make, and what it sells for. The cost to make includes materials, payroll, shipping, warehousing and anything else required to deliver a product to the end user. Moving manufacturing out of the country often saves on payroll and cost of materials, thus increasing profit.

Tariffs are not a tax on the countries targeted, it is a tax on Americans who purchase stuff from the targeted country. Tariffs are an IMPORT tax and not a dime is paid by the targeted country, unless that country subsidizes the businesses affected, to offset the cost of the tariff. US businesses that import materials or products from China pay the tariff, not China, and will have to pass those costs on to the consumer, i.e. American citizens.

This trade war has little to do with the Chinese government, it is an attempt to modify the behavior of American citizens and businesses by penalizing them for purchasing Chinese stuff. If Trump believes that the Chinese government can order it's people to buy more stuff from America, why not use executive actions to order Americans and American businesses to buy only American stuff?

China is not being penalized............................Americans are.
The US government does not trade, it makes nothing... (show quote)


I do not disagree with your argument that tariffs are a tax on the American public.

The point of my post is whether that tax on the American public is worth the cost of being economically independent of other nations such as China or any other country with lower labor costs or less strict environmental regulations.

If I read your post correctly, you place a higher value on "free trade" rather than "economic independence". Is that a correct assumption?

Reply
May 15, 2019 07:25:48   #
Fodaoson Loc: South Texas
 
A short history of tariffs'
Prior to ratification of the 16th (income tax) Amendment in February 1913, the federal government managed its few constitutional responsibilities without an income tax, except during the Civil War period. During peacetime, it did so largely — or even entirely — on import taxes called “tariffs.” Congress could afford to run the federal government on tariffs alone because federal responsibilities did not include welfare programs, agricultural subsidies, or social insurance programs like Social Security or Medicare. After the Civil War, tariff revenues sometimes suffered under a protectionist policy ushered in by the Republican Party that supplemented federal income via excises on alcohol, tobacco, and inheritances. But before the war, the need for tariff revenue to finance the federal government generally kept the tariff at reasonable levels. During wartime throughout early American history, the Founding Fathers were able to raise additional revenue employing a different method of direct taxation authorized by the U.S. Constitution prior to the 16th Amendment. These alternative taxing methods gave the young American nation embarrassing peacetime budget surpluses that several times came close to paying off the national debt.

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