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I strongly disagree. Tariffs and welfare are both ways that the same thing manifests itself. They're both government handouts; just one is to those who are dest
by s73v3r_ 8y ago
I strongly disagree. Tariffs and welfare are both ways that the same thing manifests itself. They're both government handouts; just one is to those who are destitute, and one is to the wealthy.
- commandlinefan 8y agoAre you sure you're not mixing up tariffs and subsidies? Subsidies _are_ welfare - the government collects tax revenue and gives it to corporations. Tariffs are taxes imposed on imported goods. EvilEndures's argument (seems to be) that when you impose taxes on imported goods, exporters stop or reduce exportation (which is true, that's the point of tariffs after all) so that buyers are forced to buy through domestic manufacturers. The chain of causation there is pretty fragile, but that's _still_ not comparable to welfare where your money is forcibly redistributed - you were going to buy _x_ anyway, but you end up buying it for possibly a bit more money from a domestic supplier rather than a foreign one. It's not a good idea and it doesn't work to stimulate the economy the way its supporters want it to, but it's still pretty far from "welfare" in any common definition of the term, corporate or otherwise.
- s73v3r_ 8y agoTariffs are a subsidy.