LETTER TO THE EDITOR / SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS
Roger C. Kostmayer
An unnecessary trade war has been launched. Most post WW II economics text books address why trade wars (raising tariffs on imports to protect domestic producers) are disastrous for all parties.
Republicans have traditionally been advocates for international free and fair trade, and they used to point out the damage attendant to escalating tit for tat retaliatory taxes. The Trump trade war (TTW) has already cost farmers an estimated $13 billion. But, you may ask, once it’s clear the trade war failed, shouldn’t we admit the mistake and go to plan B ? Instead, Mr. Trump, who neither understands economics 101 nor listens to those who do, chose to double down on Socialism 101. To make a bad mistake worse, the President focused on politics and promised to make farmers welfare queens by giving them $12 billion – in spite of the fact that farmers want fair prices, not charity.
No one in the White House was able to explain to the President that lots of other industries and manufacturers, who have been hurt by this trade war, will now demand the same largess. The result is we’re headed down a slippery slope and, ironically, it’s Trump’s socialism-on-steroids that’s taking the country toward a 1929 scenario. Trump’s reaction so far is -“Tariffs are the greatest!“.
Some Republican Senators rose to the occasion: “A terrible policy that (hurts) farmers”; “The TTW is cutting off the legs . . .& his solution is $12 billion for gold crutches !”
The obvious solution is to call off this benighted trade war and save American producers and consumers from more serious economic pain.
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Well Mr. Know-It-All, again you have your head where the sun does not shine. What the hell do you think all those countries we have put tariffs on have been doing to America for the last 100 years? We have been supporting their dumb asses so they can live some sort of decent lives, but no, they want it all for free. Sound familiar? Yes, it’s Socialism pure and simple. Make the American fools pay us to do nothing, just like the illegals moving in here are demanding. The tariffs are designed to balance out the costs of goods and make foreign sources WORK for a living. A putz like you only wants more profit from already over priced goods . Why hasn’t DT initiated a World Money and a World Value System for all goods. A loaf of bread is a loaf of bread. I would love to see the looks on merchants faces when this happens!
“Mr. Trump, who neither understands economics 101 nor listens to those who do, chose to double down on Socialism 101. To make a bad mistake worse, the President focused on politics and promised to make farmers welfare queens by giving them $12 billion – in spite of the fact that farmers want fair prices, not charity.”
A Socialist Democrat complaining about ‘Socialism 101’ and ‘welfare queens’. Oh the irony.
On the same date, the 2Q GDP was announced at 4.1%.
Only a couple days after the announcement that the EU didn’t want a trade war and intended to increase US imports of soy and LNG.
Please educate us all on Pres Trump’s economic plans and what he is doing wrong.!
“promised to make farmers welfare queens by giving them $12 billion..”
I agree. Pres Trump should have followed Pres Obama’s successful “$800 billion economic stimulus plan”. The shovel ready projects worked out well along with the auto industry massive bail outs.
“The obvious solution is to call off this benighted trade war and save American producers and consumers from more serious economic pain.”
Yes, let us go back to the Pres Obama years because farmers, manufacturers and consumers were doing so well. The solution was “Hope and Change”.
What deniers forget, Pres Trump is not a member of the “We are the World” school. Rather, Pres Trump is from the “Make America Great Again” school!