Tag Archives | tariffs

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Macaulay and My 75-Cent Epiphanies, Part 1

Macaulay and My 75-Cent Epiphanies, Part 1 by James Bovard Fearing that my writing style was becoming anemic, I recently sought a literary booster shot from my bookshelves. Happily, a dozen volumes of Thomas Macaulay awaited me. Macaulay made history mesmerizing, and I have been captivated by his speed, grace, and wit for 40 years. […]

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Protectionism Is Immoral, Unjust, and Corrupt

Mises Institute, October 27, 2021 Protectionism Is Immoral, Unjust, and Corrupt by James Bovard Protectionism is reviving in Washington on both sides of the political aisle. Democrats are cheering proposals to restrict trade to benefit labor unions and save the environment while some Republicans are reviving Smoot-Hawley style salvation schemes. Protectionist advocates routinely seize the […]

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Heisting the Secret U.S. Tariff Code

American Institute for Economic Research, October 4, 2021 The Secret Tariff Code Heist James Bovard Nothing so diminishes democracy as secrecy,” as Attorney General Ramsey Clark warned in 1967. As a journalist, I have battled federal agencies for decades to try to discover the sordid details of how Americans’ rights and liberties are being shafted. […]

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Steel Follies and the Perils of Politically-Controlled Trade

American Institute for Economic Research, April 22, 2021 Steel Follies and the Perils of Politically-Controlled Trade James Bovard The Biden administration appears determined to perpetrate all of Trump’s economic follies while adding fresh blunders of its own. Trump was notorious for saying incorrect things on trade, such as his assertion that “trade wars are good, […]

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Wash. Times: Politicians & Peanut Pilfering

Washington Times, August 26, 2016 Politicians and Peanut Pilfering by James Bovard The peanut program is typical of the train wreck of farm subsidies The history of federal peanut policy is the perfect antidote to anyone who still believes that Congress could competently manage a lemonade stand. Federal spending for peanut subsidies will rise eight-fold […]

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FFF: How Tariffs Helped Cause the Civil War and Other Disasters

from the Future of Freedom Foundation’s monthly magazine, July 2014 –   – (The first part of this analysis was published by FFF here).  For a far more detailed examination of the role of tariffs and the Civil War, see Michael Griffith’s excellent analysis here.    The full text of the February 1861 New York Times editorial […]

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