I brought this up on X yesterday but I want to do to a bit more on explaining my tariff views – and, indeed, my overall economic views. So, here goes:
You’ve seen this picture of some variation of it, probably many times: the driving of the last spike in the Transcontinental Railroad. This was a major development in the growth of the United States – tying together the East and West and ensuring rapid settlement of the Great Plains. But what most people don’t know is that the rails used to build that railroad and the tires (wheels) on the trains in this picture were probably made in Germany, by Krupp. Here’s the logo of that company:
De drie ringen – the three rings. After the World Wars a lot of foreigners thought the three rings stood for Krupp cannon as Krupp was the premier gun maker for both the German Empire and Nazi Germany…but the truth is much more prosaic. Alfred Krupp was the first major German steel manufacturer and his firm struggled mightily early on. He did, indeed, realize his steel would be excellent for cannons and rifles but the military establishment of Prussia (his homeland) and the rest of Europe was skeptical of the newfangled thing, preferring to retain their cast-iron muskets and bronze cannon as tried and true (it was only after the astonishing performance of Krupp cannon in the 1870 Franco-Prussian war that everyone was sold on steel guns). What allowed Krupp to take off was two things: the exceptional quality of their steel and their invention of a new method of making steel railroad tires which produced a product superior to everyone else. The Krupp firm made so much money off the tires that Alfred Krupp decided to make three railroad tires his company logo – de drie ringen. Krupp’s rails and tires were so good that we Americans bought them in huge quantities. Krupp-steel was used to crisscross our continent with railroads.
But during all this time, we lived under a Protectionist trade policy. Sure, everyone loved the quality of Krupp products but they were expensive, as such, and then you had to pay the tariff to import them to the USA. Modern Free Trade nimrods would say we should have lowered the barriers to allow more Krupp steel in…but what happened was that the high tariffs induced American manufacturers to get into the game…by the 1890’s American-made railroad tires and tracks were only slightly less good than Krupp’s and being made at home and not subject to tariffs, were a lot cheaper. Boom: American railroads started buying American products. Here’s the key thing to remember: had we not had Protection, the American industries created to make railroad tracks and tires would have not come into existence. German labor costs were lower than American. The German product was better than we could produce out the gate. No tariffs would mean the German product would not only be better than we could ever make, but cheaper.
Now, think about this: had we not developed domestic railroad suppliers, what would have happened to us during the two World Wars when German imports were no longer available? We would have been in one heck of a bad situation…at a time when American rolling stock would be massively used, we would lack the domestic means to maintain and expand our rail system. Absolute catastrophe. Thanks to tariffs, we didn’t need German products. The loss of Germany as a trade partner meant absolutely nothing to us.
The economy, my friends, is not something to make your stock portfolio grow. It is what we do for a living – how we get our daily bread. Just think of all the things you use every week – by and large, everything you use should be made domestically if at all possible. We’re not talking luxury goods like an excellent French wine or some delicate silk fabric from the storied East…we’re talking about the bread and butter in your pantry, the pipes that bring water to your home and carry away waste, the gasoline in your car, the power lines that carry electricity to your house, the shoes on your feet, the shirt on your back. These are the things we need to do for ourselves…because in a crisis, nobody is going to do it for us. Point blank: the more dependent we are upon foreign suppliers for our basic necessities the more advantage foreign enemies have over us. And here’s another thing to consider – the US dollar is the global currency and nobody is going to want to dispense with it mostly because nobody trusts any other nation to hold assets…this has worked out well for us because we can print as many dollars as we like and buy cheap foreign goods with them…but in a real crisis, your wealth isn’t your money: it is what you can make, mine and grow.
Money was invented so that I don’t have to exchange a sack of potatoes for a bushel of wheat. It is a convenience – something standing in the place of me exchanging goods for goods because much easier to hand money to someone instead of the tedious transactions of a barter economy. But behind that money, you’d better have something someone wants. We used to back our money with gold, silver and copper…now we back it with “full faith and credit” which is meaningless support for a myth. If foreigners ever perceive that having US dollars isn’t the way to go – like, say, if we’re at war with China and not doing well – then they’re going to essentially demand goods for goods. Perhaps still denominated in dollars, but there better be something behind that slip of paper. And if we don’t make, mine and grow things? What then backs up our currency?
To have wealth, we must make – and to be safe, we must supply as much of our needs domestically as we can. This isn’t to say that trade isn’t beneficial. It is, in fact, one of the most beneficial of human actions. It is trading nations who always do best. If you ever wonder why Africa – where humans originated – never developed a high sub-Saharan civilization then look no further than Africa’s geography: outside the Nile, none of Africa’s major rivers are navigable year-round at distance. The African coast has hardly any natural harbors. Basically, deserts and oceans isolated sub-Saharan Africa from the main cross-currents of human development and so when Europeans first went into central and southern Africa starting in the 16th century, they found people who simply could not withstand superior European technology and organization. Had Africa been able to trade as readily as Europe, it probably would have developed similar to Europe. Lack of trade is a society-killer.
But Free Trade between nations is a myth – it has never happened and never can happen. If you brought together the two most honest nations and negotiated the most fair and square free trade deal, you still wouldn’t have free trade because each nation is working under a different tax and regulatory system. Each nation will also almost certainly have developmental differences which means they might be better at this, worse at that and so on back and forth between them. So even with the most honest approach, you still won’t have free trade – the internal differences between the trade partners will work out that one of them gains an advantage over the other. And here’s the spoiler: outside suckers like the USA (and Britain in the 19th century when they became the first nation to try Free Trade), nobody is honest. Everyone is lying, cheating and stealing to the largest extent possible. Bribes, subsidies, secret tariffs and bizarre regulatory mazes are designed to wring every last advantage for their side. Back in the 1980’s when we were all upset about Japanese car imports hardly anyone noticed that the reason the Japanese were able to dump their products in the USA was because their market was protected…not officially but through a maze of regulations and social constructs which essentially kept American automobiles out of Japan (in spite of Japanese loving every last bit of American pop culture and thus being primed to buy a Chevy). On and on it goes like that – Trump is right: they have been ripping us off.
But, as noted, even if they weren’t stealing, free trade is still a blind. Because even if a foreigner can make something for us better, faster and cheaper that isn’t the only consideration. Our people need to work. Our people need to have dignified jobs and lives. Our nation needs to be safe in a crisis. We need to be able to do things.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was partially collapsed in March of 2024 – officials now say they hope to have a replacement bridge up by the end of 2028. More than four years later! And if you really think a bunch of Democrats in Baltimore will meet that time line then I’ve got a collapsed bridge to sell you. It took less time to build the entire Golden Gate which is a bigger bridge. We’re currently constructing the USS Enterprise (CVN-80) which is a replacement for USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and the newer ship is going to take twice as long to build as the older even though there is no significant difference in tonnage or layout. We see things everywhere taking longer and longer and costing more and more – and, sure, taxes and regulations are playing their huge role here but it is also that we simply don’t make as much stuff as we used to so we’re dependent upon unreliable foreign suppliers and we’re increasingly using cheap, illegal labor which is totally unskilled (some of the new home construction done by illegals is atrociously bad). Suppose we got into a big war and needed to build lots of things very fast – as we had to in World War Two? Right now, we simply can’t do it – we lack the physical plant and the domestic skills.
In order to maintain the irreducible minimum of required capacity, we’re going to have to Protect certain industries and trades from foreign competition, even if that competition is superior (usually it isn’t, though; just compare your garbage Chinese-made drill with that American-made one that you’ve had in your garage for 40 years). In food, we must not import any of soybeans, corn, wheat, beef, pork, poultry and dairy products. In industry we must make all our own steel and aluminum, all our own lumber, all our own trucks, trains, planes, all our own power lines and associated equipment…we must as far as possible drill, baby drill for oil and natural gas and build sufficient nuke plants to ensure a glut of electrical production capacity. And we must do this even if it ends up more expensive – but it won’t because here is the dirty, little secret the Free Traders don’t want to tell you…prices in the USA fell continuously from the end of the War of 1812 until the creation of the Fed in 1913. The reason we need to import cheap consumer goods is because the deliberate use of inflation to sustain the banking system has priced us out of our own economy. If we go to sound money (I’d prefer the Gold Standard, but lets go baby-steps here) and try to eliminate inflation (rather than keep to the Fed’s ruinous and insane policy of ensuring at least 2% annual inflation) then we will see prices drop year over year as increased capacity and productivity drive down prices at the consumer level. We can start getting actually rich again.
And as we produce again, we can really trade again – it isn’t trade if I send a billion dollars I printed up for Chinese goods. That is just robbery. Trade is when I send China a billion dollars worth of goods and I buy a billion dollars worth of Chinese goods. Trade reciprocity…actual trade. I get this, you get that. Not I get your substandard consumer good and you get my money which you use to buy bonds and political influence over my Ruling Class. The exchange of goods and services is trade…not slips of paper. And it would be honest trade – and if China won’t buy from us because they demand I allow myself to be ripped off, then they are simply barred from my market…which they can’t survive, so they’ll actually have to be honest about it. Sucks to be them. I don’t care.
And here’s something to consider – once you think about it, this all makes sense. Certainly makes more sense than blaming tariffs for the Great Depression when you’re completely ignoring the massive financial, social and material dislocations in the period 1914 forward by war, disease and revolutionary overthrow of long-established nations and relationships. Tariffs certainly didn’t cause the Depression – if they played a role in extending it then this was secondary to all the massive government spending which misallocated resources from economic need to political favor. We’ve been living in an economic dream world since FDR…and in a Free Trade nightmare since Bretton Woods in 1944. Our economy is hollowed out, our technical abilities are atrophied, our people have fallen into welfare dependency and drug addiction…while a certain class is happy to sit back and watch as long as their stocks go up 7% per year. Enough of this. Back to the real world. As Trump said, the operation has been a success…the patient is on the mend. It is going to hurt – but healing from terrible illness and injury always does…but we’re restoring ourselves to health.
Blogs For Victory 
Great news this morning … Klaus Schwab is gone. Another win
After five decades of steering the WEF into a playground for elites, Schwab’s exit signals what could be the long-overdue unraveling of a technocratic agenda that aimed to dictate how the rest of us live, eat, travel, and think.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/globalist-puppetmaster-klaus-schwab-steps-down-as-world/
To be replaced by someone just as bad, I’m sure.
One of the Never-Trumpy Right guys on X, confronted with a MAGA guy voicing support for higher taxes on rich people, wrote “so, MAGA was all Commie sh*t stains from the start”. In case you wonder how these people really view us…they hate us as much as the actual Left does.
I pointed out that once we found out that 90% of the rich hated us and wanted us replaced and our country destroyed it did make us willing to hit them back. Make no mistake about it, we MAGA types are quite alone – we only can rely on ourselves. And we can’t let the parts of the so-called Right who hate us get us fighting against each other. They went ballistic when Loomer was at the White House the other day – they want all of us to agree that Loomer is nothing but a bad person who should be rejected. Sort of like Buckley reading the Birchers out of the Right. Nothing doing. Sure, Loomer can be a bit out there…but I’m not interested in attacking her nor telling her and her supporters they aren’t welcome. Personally, I think that Candace Owens is an op – being paid to be a kook to try and get some MAGA types stained with anti-Semitism.
they want all of us to agree that Loomer is nothing but a bad person who should be rejected
In other words, they want us all to COMPLY. And that’s who Democrat progressives are now … communists. Diversity to them is simply superficial characteristics like skin color, but at the heart of it is conformity and compliance or … violence.
Because these people have no core ideology, and their “politics” are really just a then veneer of pretend politics laid over a thick base of personality disorders, and they are locked into that identity. It simply does not compute for them to realize that it is possible to have a solid POLITICAL foundation—that is, a concept of the best way to govern the nation—-and still be individuals with some differing ideas and opinions.
So we can sit down and discuss varying opinions, even those that differ strongly from ours, because they are merely the way some people see things that does not necessarily match the way we see those things, because they are just ideas, not definitions of who we are as people.
And it is possible that the higher-taxes “MAGA guy” is no better, just hitching his identity to a different label but without that core analysis of government. We get them on our side, too. The thing is, a true “MAGA guy” can have a discussion about his taxation ideas and maybe even come to realize that it contradicts the Constitutionalist core of MAGA—and maybe discover that he has a strong Leftist streak (Central Authority/Big Government).
Because what is called “politics” in this country has done a pathetically awful job of educating people about what POLITICS really means, which is why most of the country votes for people instead of government and issues instead of policy.
As for Candace, as far as I can tell her core ideology is sound, even though she does go off the rails on some emotion-based detours I’m not crazy about. But she has made some solid points and I am hopeful she will mature.
One of my political analogies is kind of architectural in nature—-If I look at politics as a house, I start with examining the foundation to make sure it is solid, then check to see if the walls are plumb and square, if the roof keeps the outside outside, and if the windows are tight. After I am confident of all that I can live with different ideas of how it should look on the inside, with different style preferences and so on. And it seems to me that most if not all of those who think they are talking about politics are really fretting about what color curtains should be or going to war over paint v wallpaper. Maybe I hate the furniture and rugs of the people in the house now, but as long as they respect the structure of the house and don’t do anything to damage it, and even make it stronger, I can redecorate it when I move in.
That is one of the keys – we’re willing to discuss. And we have to: which of us is really certain about which particular policies will be best?
Sure, we have our core beliefs – as you state, our foundation and basic structure. But how to get from A to Z, up for discussion. First thing is always: is this proposal in line with what I know to be correct? That is, for us, does it fit within our Constitutional structure? That is the base line…someone wants to do something outside of it then we’re going to be usually opposed and only agreeable if the Constitution is amended to allow it. Then on to the next step – we know that free markets are best for an economy, that trade is good, that property values are a must…but the further along we go here, the more room for argument and, of course, more willingness to experiment a bit and see how it goes.
The big debate this week is, of course, the tariffs and stock market drop. “Oh, no! We’re doomed! That stupid Trump and dumb MAGAts have ruined everything!”. As if everything was good before the tariffs? A nation $37 trillion in debt that takes 8 years to build an aircraft carrier is not healthy. It is, in fact, collapsing. Dying. Getting ready to go the way of the Dodo. And this before we add in things like tens of millions of illegals, many millions of drug addicts, cities that are ready-made sets for Walking Dead spinoffs and probably 20% of the population in some way dependent upon government for their living. And then could go on and on for quite a long time listing all the additional problems we have. Bottom line, if this was good, then what is bad?
Of course it is bad – it is a crisis. We MAGAs all know what we voted for – a last chance to save America. They accuse us of wanting to go back to a mythical past…no; we want to go forward. We want the young to have at least some of what we had back in our day. We’re terrified looking into the future wondering what life will be like for the kids of today? Is it to be bug-paste in the life-pod with bureaucratic overlords cracking with whip via a social credit score? Or is it to be a place where you can own property, live as you like, work at a dignified job? We’re trying to save the future, not return to the past. I happen to believe that Trump is right – mostly because I’ve come to understand that the Narrative behind the origins of the Great Depression (just as the Narrative behind the origins of the two World Wars) is false…and rather stupidly false (but no pride here – I fell for it for a long while). That Free Trade is a myth, and a destructive one – that Protection is necessary to redress the imbalances between nations so that fair trade can happen. But even if he and I are wrong, then how is this worse than the giant currently staggering to his grave? At worse, Trump’s policies will clear out a huge amount of deadwood…and at best it will restore the American dream. The only sure way to death here in 2025 is to continue on as we have – that has no future.
As for Candace – I hope she can ditch the Jews Are To Blame drivel…she is smarter than that and it is a huge disappointment to hear her go on like that.
This is a good take on the tariffs and the value of the US has to offer.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wW0wZepl-Ck?feature=share
That is excellent – and something I’ve been thinking for a while: we don’t need them nearly as much as they need us…and given this, pay up, foreigners. I’ve also been rolling it around in my head that we’re the people clearing the sea lanes around Yemen right now even though not much US trade flows through there. US policy since the 19th century has been “freedom of the seas” but we must consider that this started when the Royal Navy kept the sea lanes clear and we were trying to take advantage of British effort. Smart! But now the roles have reversed and I’m thinking that the nation which controls the seas should extract benefit from this. Either we’re going to charge people a tariff for using the seas we keep open, or we’re going to insist that they start transiting the seas – especially to and from US ports – in US built and manned merchant ships.
Meanwhile, the argument on X goes on – and we’re starting to see people say, “hope you MAGAts enjoy your $10,000 US-made Iphone and $1,000 US-made Nike’s!”. I decided to do a little checking – there’s no 100% answer to “what does it cost” because there are so many variables involved and they change constantly but best estimate I’ve found is that the Iphone 16 costs about $600.00 to get from the factory floor to the store shelf…and it retails for about $1,000. Meanwhile, a pair of high-end Nike’s costs about $30.00 factory to shelf and retails for about $120. You immediately see it – we, the American consumer, are not getting the benefit of the cheap foreign production…they’re just lowering their costs without lowering their retail price…screwing both us and the people producing the goods so that the richest people can get even richer.
Taking a look at the costs involved, moving production back to the US would still allow them to sell the products at the same or slightly lower price than now and still make a profit even considering higher labor costs and such. Keeping production overseas means the American consumer should be paying a lot less for the products. It is all just a rip off…a way to justifying paying the Apple CEO $74 million a year and the Nike CEO $27 million. I mean, think about that: 74 million. More than 35 thousand bucks an hour. Average Vietnamese worker makes $700 a month. The guy over in Shanghai is making $1,800 a month. This is just entirely out of whack – what, exactly, does the CEO do? Let get all “The Bobs” from Office Space here…they don’t design the products. Don’t make the products. Don’t deal with the regulatory issues. What? Well, they choose between courses of action after a bunch of people have figured the ins and outs of the proposals. I mean, this is important work…but 27 million a year for it? I’m a reasonably intelligent person…and like the CEO of Nike I’ve never actually made a shoe…so, guys, give me a call: I’ll CEO the heck out of that for $2.7 million a year!
Bottom line: offshoring isn’t for efficiency…it is just to grab money. It isn’t necessary. Doesn’t help the company. Doesn’t help them sell products. It just rips off foreign workers and American consumers so the CEO gets to buy another beach mansion.
Tariffs are not simply about tit-for-tat charges on import / export goods. There’s a whole lot more involved. For example, Europe charges additional costs on imports in the form of VAT and Fees. A tariff is a tax on imports, while the VAT is simply a tax on all domestic consumption, regardless of where the good or service is produced. The system is rigged such that VAT on domestic products are reimbursed to the local consumers through various processes. I’ve been involved some in exports to international markets. A recent shipment to Europe costs an additional 25% in VAT and 5% in taxes And that includes VAT on the $1,200 in shipping charges not just the cost of the product. By necessity it gets charged to the consumer one way or another. Our ability to enter international markets relies partly on the fact that our competition charges a lot more for a similar (and often inferior) product. The shipment included 3 separate packages that comprises a single unit. Due to paperwork foul-up, 1 of the 3 packages didn’t get shipped and was returned back to me from NC to NY, which was absurd as all 3 packages had the same paperwork. That 3rd package never left the states but since it was entered into the “system” as an international shipment it was considered subject to the VAT & tax. Then, when resending that 3rd package they charged new VAT & taxes. Can’t begin to tell you how many hours of phone call and email disputes that costs. Usually, customs from the receiving country will hold the goods for a determined amount of time to ensure payment is made before releasing it. Items not picked up are typically auctioned or “confiscated”. That whole process interferes with customer relations and dampens international interest.
On top of that, many countries try to circumvent tariffs by first entering their products in a country with lower US tariffs, then ship the to the US, thereby circumventing some or all of the intended tariffs. And China in particular manipulates their currency such that it significantly benefits them and harms US interests. China also manipulates its labor market allowing unhealthy work conditions and unfair labor practices. They are also one of the worst offenders of environmental damage. Anyone think China has the least bit concern for air quality or waste dumped into the oceans? Why aren’t leftist up in arms with China’s environmental destruction to their precious “climate control” meme?
Allowing cheap Chinese junk into our market is far more damaging than just trade practices. Their fairly recent economic growth has provided them the opportunity to build their military at a rapid pace. Does anyone one with a working brain doubt Chinese expending every effort possible to dominate the world, ruling it in the same way as they do their own citizens? China, much like Russia, will exert whatever pressure they can muster over nearby countries and governments. Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the South Pacific countries… they are all on China’s radar, either by force or propaganda. Why the heck would we continue to aid a country whose wish is to destroy ours. For countries not close by they attempt to use their influence to gain control through finance incentives or coercion, finances they largely acquired from the US. Anyone think the massive amount of fentanyl being dumped in the US and half of the ridiculous leftist communist political positions are just coincidence?