One of the worst ideas that Donald Trump ran on for President were the ideas of mercantilism and protectionism. America is overloaded with politically-connected corporations getting laws passed that tilt the tables to their advantage. The last thing we need are more of these crony laws.
But protectionist measures, even though they’re a bad idea, sell very well.
They’re like the idea of “FREE” Healthcare. Yeah, it’s a deadly idea, but it sells extremely well.
Wouldn’t you know … Irony has struck again.
Because the protectionist Jones Act was so horrendous by blocking aid to Puerto Rico, the protectionist President Trump was forced to “temporarily” repeal it.
Don’t toy with us Mr. President.
We don’t need a “temporary” breather from a bad idea. Get rid of the Jones Act for good!
We need to be freed from every protectionist measure that is put into place by politically-connected and crony corporations.
The measures stem from the false idea that trade is a zero-sum game, where someone “wins” at someone else’s expense.
Trump campaigned by saying “We don’t win anymore.”
Besides being a soundbite that sells well, it just displays his big understanding about how trade works.
“We don’t win anymore” makes no sense.
Whenever two people voluntarily make an exchange, it’s always a “win-win” situation. There are no losers in voluntary exchanges.
If two people voluntarily exchange, it means that both believe they will be better off by doing it.
If one of the people thought that they would be worse off, they could simply say “no” and refuse to make the exchange.
Protectionists live under the false idea of zero-sum. As a result, they want government to violently intrude into an exchange, and tilt the tables in one direction. The corporations that get the government to act on their behalf do so to protect themselves from competitors.
Protectionism stifles the marketplace.
Once this practice gets going, everyone wants in on the action. If your competitor is greasing the government, you feel like you have to do the same.
Politicians love it because it gives them a false sense of power, and inflates their importance. Everyone is lobbying for their favors.
Protectionism is economic poison.
We should always call for its abolishment.
