it's real simple. i'm in favor of abolishing the income tax. so arguments that tariffs will raise prices do not mean much to me because consumers will not have the government dipping into our earnings. tariffs were the principle source of revenue before we had the income tax, and i believe we should return to that heritage.
this argument that tariffs will raise prices is certainly not a new one. it was a hot topic of debate in the 19th century.
Protective Tariffs
iberia.vassar.edu
High import tariffs, paid by overseas manufacturers who wanted access to U.S. markets for such products as textiles, tin plate, china, and sugar, gave an advantage to U.S. manufacturers and provided revenue for the federal Treasury. Critics argued that American consumers paid higher prices for the necessities of life, because tariffs established a high "floor" price and enhanced industrialists' profit, rather than helping workers.
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After the South's secession at the start of the Civil War, Republicans raised tariffs sharply. Through a host of revisions they remained high until Woodrow Wilson's administration in the 1910s. In 1896, the name of Republican candidate William McKinley was widely associated with the "McKinley Tariff" of 1890
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McKinley and other Republicans hoped to make the tariff a major issue in 1896. They argued that Democratic "free trade" (lower tariffs under Cleveland) had helped cause the depression and unemployment. William Jennings Bryan, however, seized the initiative and fought the campaign on the silver question, dismissing the tariff as an "irrelevant" issue. Despite McKinley's efforts, tariff "protection" became a secondary issue, though still important to many Republicans, who argued that tariffs enabled American men to earn a family wage and "protect" their families. The tariff thus formed a key part of Republicans' appeal to laboring men. |
