4 ms·

If there's any upside to Trump's tariff shenanigans, it's that they have turned a lot of Democrats into passionate free traders.

arrosenberg 2y ago
Are we pretending Clinton democrats were not passionate free traders before?
- nonethewiser 2y ago
  Trump is closer to Bill Clinton than any current Democrat leader.
  - arrosenberg 2y ago
    45 was, 47 is closer to President McKinley than any modern politician.
    - lesuorac 2y ago
      To use actual numbers instead of indicies. The parent was claiming that say 10 is closed to 2 than any of the 100s are. It is also true that 10 is closer to 9 than 2. That said, given how much Trump has increased not only government spending but also the deficit he's pretty far _politically_ from Clinton. However, IIRC, the two of them were _physically_ closer on Epstein's island than any current democratic leader.
- olalonde 2y ago
  Support for free trade has more than doubled according to this poll: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GpgFd1qWIAAKFlc?format=jpg&name=medium https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GpgFd1qWIAAKFlc?format=jpg&name=...
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - arrosenberg 2y ago
    Not really proof of much. It's more likely that there is a huge increase in people who don't like having their taxes increased by a cadre of billionaires. I doubt support has increased for expanding free trade policies (e.g. the TPP and TTIP treaties Obama tried to complete).
dmos62 2y ago
Why is free trade good? Isn't competition easily attacked via subsidation, for example, if trade is unregulated (why Chinese cars are not bought in EU)?
- oldpersonintx 2y ago
  [dead]
- olalonde 1y ago
  That's a broad question, and I don’t have time to give a full answer right now — but I recommend checking out some classic talks by economist Milton Friedman on YouTube. He explains tariffs and subsidies really well. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcw3Z3vMqWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcw3Z3vMqWw

arrosenberg 2y ago

Are we pretending Clinton democrats were not passionate free traders before?

nonethewiser 2y ago
Trump is closer to Bill Clinton than any current Democrat leader.
- arrosenberg 2y ago
  45 was, 47 is closer to President McKinley than any modern politician.
  - lesuorac 2y ago
    To use actual numbers instead of indicies. The parent was claiming that say 10 is closed to 2 than any of the 100s are. It is also true that 10 is closer to 9 than 2. That said, given how much Trump has increased not only government spending but also the deficit he's pretty far _politically_ from Clinton. However, IIRC, the two of them were _physically_ closer on Epstein's island than any current democratic leader.
olalonde 2y ago
Support for free trade has more than doubled according to this poll: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GpgFd1qWIAAKFlc?format=jpg&name=medium https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GpgFd1qWIAAKFlc?format=jpg&name=...
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- arrosenberg 2y ago
  Not really proof of much. It's more likely that there is a huge increase in people who don't like having their taxes increased by a cadre of billionaires. I doubt support has increased for expanding free trade policies (e.g. the TPP and TTIP treaties Obama tried to complete).

dmos62 2y ago

Why is free trade good? Isn't competition easily attacked via subsidation, for example, if trade is unregulated (why Chinese cars are not bought in EU)?

oldpersonintx 2y ago
[dead]
olalonde 1y ago
That's a broad question, and I don’t have time to give a full answer right now — but I recommend checking out some classic talks by economist Milton Friedman on YouTube. He explains tariffs and subsidies really well. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcw3Z3vMqWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcw3Z3vMqWw