Category Archives: Economic Issues

Trump moves to impose big tax hikes

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Orange County Register editorial

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the “American Dream” would be restored with his bold plan to tax American businesses and consumers for importing goods from abroad.

“Now it’s our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt,” he said. “And it will all happen very quickly. With today’s action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before or. Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.”

Depending on which supporter of the president you’re talking to, this is actually what he believes will happen with sweeping tariffs in place or this is instead part of some big “negotiation” with vaguely defined objectives.

We didn’t think we needed to remind Republicans of this, but to put it simply, tax increases are generally bad. If a key plank of your economic policy is to raise taxes to get prosperity, you’re doing things wrong.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is seemingly one of the few in his party who still remembers this. “On many fronts, I’m a supporter of the president,” he told The Hill. “On tariffs, I think it’s economically a fallacy to think it will help the country. Tariffs are a tax.”

We know what happened the last time Trump imposed tariffs in his first term. Sure, some new domestic jobs were created in sectors subject to tariffs, but even more were lost as a result of businesses and consumers having to pay more for the same things.

The latest line of argument from Trump is that he’s doing this to deter other countries from imposing taxes on their own people.

But as former Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan noted on X, “Just because other countries impose high taxes on their people does not mean the United States should impose high taxes on Americans. The United States is the economic powerhouse of the world in large part because our economy is relatively free. Don’t emulate socialist countries.”

Yet that’s exactly what Trump is doing in pursuit of his confused goal of doing whatever he thinks he’s doing in support of American manufacturing.

As economist Veronique De Rugy wrote in a column recently published in this newspaper, “America’s industrial base is not collapsing. It’s evolving — becoming more productive, more specialized and more capital-intensive. Protectionism won’t bring back the past or revive old jobs. It will just make the future more expensive and shift workers into lower-paying jobs.”

Unfortunately, one can find no recognition of this in Trump’s rhetoric or actions. And even worse, Trump is leading Republicans down a path of making confused and contradictory arguments in support of higher taxes and central planning of the economy.

Meanwhile, Congress is standing by, unwilling to buck the president and denigrating our system of checks and balances.

America’s trade policy, simply put, should be free trade.

Source:The Orange County Register @ https://www.ocregister.com/2025/04/03/trump-moves-to-impose-big-tax-hikes/

CTA Statement on Proposed Tariff Increases

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The following statement is from Gary Shapiro, CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® regarding President-elect Trump’s call for higher tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico, and China:

“President-elect Trump’s proposed sweeping new tariffs of 25% on all imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on top of existing tariffs on all imports from China, collectively, our top three trading partners, if implemented, will be a major inflation-causing tax on Americans and harmful to the U.S. economy.  

“We estimate that the new tariffs would burden over $350 billion in U.S. imports of technology products and inputs from these three countries. U.S. policymakers, especially in the Congress, must understand that the tariffs threatened by the President-elect would have the effect of separating the U.S. economy from those of these trading partners. More, they would invite these partners to retaliate against US exporters.

“Higher tariffs on our closest allies and trading partners like Canada and Mexico are counterproductive and will only lead to harm to U.S. businesses and consumers. CTA takes seriously and literally all tariffs proposed by the President-elect given how he followed through on his threats in his first term.

“According to our study ‘How the Proposed Trump Tariffs Increase Prices for Consumer Technology Products,’ a universal tariff of 10% and a 60% flat tariff on all imports from China will cause huge price increases for U.S. consumers: laptops and tablets are predicted to rise by 46%, video game consoles by 40%, and smartphones by 26%. The research also shows that the 60% flat tariff on all imports from China will largely drive production to other countries, not to the United States.

“We will be updating this study for CES® 2025, examining how a 20% universal tariff on all imports from all countries and a 100% flat tariff on all imports from China would impact the prices and purchases of consumer technology products in the United States. Tariffs are taxes that Americans pay and are ineffective and economically dangerous tools. 

About Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®:   
As North America’s largest technology trade association, CTA is the tech sector. Our members are the world’s leading innovators – from startups to global brands – helping support more than 18 million American jobs. CTA owns and produces CES® – the most powerful tech event in the world. Find us at CTA.tech. Follow us @CTAtech. 

Source:https://www.cta.tech/Resources/Newsroom/Media-Releases/2024/November/CTA-Statement-on-Proposed-Tariff-Increases

CNN Report: Ikea says Trump’s tariffs could push up prices

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LondonCNN — 

The chief executive of the company behind Ikea furniture stores says tariffs make it more difficult to keep its prices low, joining a growing chorus of business leaders in warning of a potential hit to people’s wallets from Donald Trump’s planned import levies.

“In general, we don’t believe tariffs will support international companies and international trade. At the end of the day, that risks ending up on the bills of customers,” Jesper Brodin, Ingka Group CEO, told CNN Wednesday when asked about Trump’s tariffs. He was speaking ahead of the opening of Ikea’s pop-up store on London’s Oxford Street Thursday.

“Tariffs make it more difficult for us to maintain the low prices and be affordable for many people, which in the end is our goal,” he added. “We have never experienced a period of benefit when we had high tariffs,” he said, referring both to Ikea and the global economy. “But it’s beyond our control. We will need to understand and adapt.”

On Monday, President-elect Trump promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, Canada and China. In response, officials from those countries warned that the tariffs would harm the economies of all involved, including the United States.

“One tariff will be followed by another in response and so on until we put common enterprises at risk,” Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday during a regular press conference.

Business lobby groups for the US retail and consumer goods industries have also sounded the alarm. Tom Madrecki, vice-president of campaigns and special projects at the Consumer Brands Association, told CNN tariffs were a “clear and present danger” to its members. The group represents Coca-Cola, General Mills, Molson Coors and dozens of other packaged goods companies.

On Monday, Trump said he would impose an additional 10% tariff on goods from China until the country prevents the flow of illegal drugs into the US.

Ikea’s Brodin did not directly answer a question about whether Ingka Group, which runs most Ikea stores, plans to relocate any of its production in light of Trump’s tariffs but emphasized that it has longstanding relationships with suppliers of more than 10 years on average.

“(We) stick to long-term relationships, for better or worse,” he said.

Last year, Ikea cut prices on roughly 2,000 products — at a cost of more than €2 billion ($2.1 billion) — to give inflation-weary consumers a break. As a result, it posted a fall in annual revenue in value terms, even though it sold a higher volume of items.

Source:Cable News Network @ https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/27/business/ikea-prices-trump-tariffs-intl/index.html

How To Avoid Paying Tariffs? Have a Friend in Washington

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Eric Boehm @ Reason looks at political favoritism in the Trump administration

Container ship being pulled by tug boat | Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

American businesses bore the brunt of the tariffs hiked by former President Donald Trump, but having the right friends allowed some to dodge those higher costs.

Politically connected firms—specifically, those that donated to Republican candidates, including Trump—were more likely to succeed when asking the government for an exemption on imports that would normally be subject to tariffs, a new report concludes. It’s a finding that seems particularly relevant at the moment, as Trump is campaigning on a promise to hike more tariffs if he returns to the White House, while some conservatives see a potential second Trump term as a chance to reward friends and punish enemies.

In the study, four researchers reviewed 7,015 applications for exemptions that companies filed with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Of those, only 1,022 were approved—but requests from companies that reported spending more on lobbying were more likely to gain approval. Companies with political action committees that made campaign contributions to Republicans were even more likely to score an exception, while those that donated to Democrats were more likely to have exemptions denied.

Full Post by Eric Boehm @ Reason https://reason.com/2024/10/25/how-to-avoid-paying-tariffs-have-a-friend-in-washington/

Kamala’s ‘new path forward’ is Bidenomics on steroids

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Kamala’s ‘new path forward’ is Bidenomics on steroids

Kamala Harris’ grand reveal of her economic plan turned into an epic campaign flop. She faces the unenviable task of trying to distance herself from Joe Biden’s deeply unpopular presidency and its catastrophic economic legacy, without admitting that the administration, in which she has played a key role, failed in its economic stewardship. This is a nearly impossible task, and she has now clearly flunked it.

In her speech in North Carolina fresh off the Democratic National Convention, Harris tried to show sympathy for the daily economic struggles of American families. She admitted that prices are “too high” and that basic expenses — food, rent, gas, school supplies, and medication — are leaving many with “not much … at the end of the month.”

Harris is not just endorsing Biden’s economic framework but accelerating it.

In what might seem a startling acknowledgement for a sitting vice president given its implications, she noted, “A loaf of bread costs 50% more today than it did before the pandemic. Ground beef is up almost 50%.”

What she didn’t acknowledge was the role that Biden-Harris administration policies played in getting us here. Her call to “chart a new way forward” offers anything but, and instead represents a full-throated embrace of “Bidenomics” — the very agenda that has contributed to soaring consumer costs and the struggles of middle-class families.

At its core, Bidenomics shifts blame for economic distress onto others, deliberately ignoring the role that massive government spending and burdensome regulations have played in causing economic stagnation, inflation, and high interest rates.

Full post by Daniel Mitchell @ Freedom & Prosperity https://freedomandprosperity.org/2024/opinion-and-commentary/kamalas-new-path-forward-is-bidenomics-on-steroi

Jack Guerrero for California Treasurer

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Cudahy City Councilman Jack Guerrero is running for California Treasurer on a platform of defending taxpayers and investigating the financial excesses of state and local governments in California.

“As Mayor of his hometown city, Jack worked with the California State Controller to expose millions of dollars in wasteful and unlawful spending.”

Jack Guerrero will expose the mismanagement by politicians of California’s pension funds, which face a massive shortfall if not reformed.

As Mayor of Cudahy, Jack Guerrero held public hearings on the quality of education in local public schools! He successfully advocated for local school reform, organized parents, and demanded change in one school’s administration. Over the last two years, test scores for California students have declined and many parents are worried that their children are not receiving the education they need and deserve. Jack Guerrero has shown he knows how important this issue is for California.

Jack Guerrero is an economist who has worked as a consultant to Fortune 500 corporations in California, New York and Europe. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has audited government agencies at the state and local level.

His views on economics and politics are based on his education. He has included on his website a list of books that have influenced him:

  • “The Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith
  • “Principles of Political Economy and Taxation” by David Ricardo
  • “Human Action” by Ludwig von Mises
  • “The Road to Serfdom” by Friedrich von Hayek
  • “Capitalism and Freedom” by Milton Friedman
  • “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand
  • “The Conscience of a Conservative” by Barry Goldwater
  • “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville
  • “Witness” by Whittaker Chambers
  • “Ideas Have Consequences” by Richard Weaver
  • “The Conservative Mind” by Russell Kirk
  • “Reflections on the Revolution in France” by Edmund Burke
  • “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill
  • “The Federalist Papers”

The best opportunity for California Libertarians in this election is to get behind the campaign of Jack Guerrero, Republican for Californias Treasurer.

For more information, or to contact the candidate, go to https://www.jack4treasurer.com/

Vote November 8:Lanhee Chen for Controller

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Lanhee Chen came in first in California’s top-two primary, and faces off against Democrat Maili Cohen, a member of the State Board of Equalization.

“The Controller is California’s independent fiscal watchdog. The person who makes sure that taxpayer money—OUR money—is spent as we’re told it will be. But that’s not happening now. In fact, the Controller can’t even tell us where she sent over $300 billion in payments in 2018 alone.”

“For too long, the Controller has been a Sacramento insider, valuing partisanship over competence. The Controller has been beholden to other politicians, defending THEM, instead of fighting for and protecting YOU.”

The State of California collects hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes every year, and spends most of it. Not all of this money goes to its intended purposes. In 2020 and 2021 criminals defrauded the state out of more than 20 billion dollars in unemployment benefits – 11% of the total paid out in benefits during the Covid pandemic. And that is just one scandal.

This reflects a lack of oversight on spending by the State Controller – an abandonment of the Controller’s responsibility. California voters have a chance to elect a new controller who will take his responsibilities seriously.

Lanhee Chen pledges to protect taxpayers from fraud by “examining state programs that may be ripe for fraud and abuse.“

Lanhee Chen promises to hold Sacramento politicians accountable. California voters need to know how their tax dollars are spent. They need to know “why major political donors to Governor Gavin Newsom received no-bid contracts or plum appointments as part of the state’s pandemic response.”

Lanhee Chen promises to provide true fiscal transparency by using technology to ensure taxpayers have access to a best-of-class system to see where there tax money is being spent.

Lanhee Chen promises honest accounting so taxpayers will understand the real fiscal situation of our state government.

Lanhee Chen is an independent Republican who has never supported Donald Trump. Like most Californians, Lanhee Chen is pro-choice on abortion. Lanhee Chen provides a choice for Independent and Libertarian voters in California who know that California is taking too much in taxes and spending too much of our tax money.

Vote for financial responsibility and clarity. Vote Lanhee Chen for Controller on November 8, 2022.

For more information go to https://chenforcalifornia.com/

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Bloomberg:”On Climate Change, Republicans Need a Crash Course in Capitalism”

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Red-state lawmakers are increasingly trying to interfere in private firms’ decision-making. They’re making a terrible mistake.

The climate is changing, and so are the incentives.
The climate is changing, and so are the incentives.Photographer: Eddie Seal/Bloomberg

By

Michael R. Bloomberg

Republican elected officials seem to think they’ve found three new evil letters to pair with their favorite bugaboo, CRT, or critical race theory. This one is called ESG, which refers to investment strategies that consider environmental, social and governance issues. Critics call it “woke capitalism.” There’s just one problem: They don’t seem to understand capitalism. And flogging ESG is not only a terrible economic mistake. It will be a political loser, too.

Republican critics of ESG have focused primarily on the “E,” arguing that climate change should not factor into investment decisions. Texas has adopted a law restricting the state, localities, and pension boards from doing business with financial firms that seek to limit their exposure to fossil fuel companies. Even firms that have large investments in fossil fuels are being banned, if they dare attempt to price climate risk into their portfolio allocations. Oklahoma has enacted a similar law, and other Republican leaders are moving in the same direction. Last month, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, supported a resolution barring pension fund managers from considering ESG factors.

All these anti-ESG crusaders position themselves as defenders of the free market. But they are attempting to use government to block private firms from acting in the best interests of their clients, including retired police officers, teachers and many others who depend upon public pensions. And in doing so, they are turning the most basic investment rules on their head.

Any responsible money manager, especially one with a fiduciary duty to taxpayers, seeks to build a diversified portfolio (including on energy); identifies and mitigates risk (including the risks associated with climate change); and considers macro trends that are shaping industries and markets (such as the steadily declining price of clean power).

That’s investing 101, and either Republican critics of ESG don’t understand it, or they are catering to the interests of fossil fuel companies. It may well be both. Either way, they are standing in the way of the most powerful force we can muster in the fight against climate change: the private sector. And the stakes could not be higher.

Full Commentary by Michael R Bloomberg @ https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-09-06/on-climate-change-republicans-need-a-crash-course-in-capitalism

Lanhee Chin for California Controller

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“The Controller is California’s independent fiscal watchdog. The person who makes sure that taxpayer money—OUR money—is spent as we’re told it will be. But that’s not happening now. In fact, the Controller can’t even tell us where she sent over $300 billion in payments in 2018 alone.”

Lanhee Chin is the only Republican running for State Controller on the June primary ballot. His campaign will focus on four themes:

Protecting Taxpayers From Fraud:”As Controller, I will use my audit authority aggressively and frequently, particularly in examining state programs that may be ripe for fraud and abuse.“

Holding Sacramento Politicians Accountable: “California taxpayers deserve answers to questions like how tens of billions of dollars in federal assistance during the pandemic were spent. And whether school districts are actually using the funding they’ve received to help get our kids back into the classroom safely. Or why major political donors to Governor Gavin Newsom received no-bid contracts or plum appointments as part of the state’s pandemic response? These are the sorts of questions that, as Controller, I will answer on behalf of taxpayers.”

Providing True Fiscal Transparency: The Controller’s Office was unable to disclose to the public where each one of the roughly 50 million payments it made—totaling over $300 billion in 2018 alone—went…I will leverage the innovation and technology we have in our state to ensure that taxpayers have access to a best-in-class system to see these payments and understand exactly how their money is being spent.”

Ensuring Honest and Transparent Accounting: “Our state government shouldn’t be using gimmicks and smoke-and-mirrors to hide the true nature of our fiscal condition from California’s taxpayers. One example is the way that our state pension funds report on their own fiscal health. As Controller, I will fight to ensure that our state’s public pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, clearly tell taxpayers how much they will owe once retirement benefits for current and former government employees come due.

Since 2010 California has been dominated by the Democratic Party. Democrats have used this dominance to promote new government programs and new mandates. The California Republican Party has not always defended freedom and limited government; Republicans have committed to leaders who have championed more government to deal with social problems. But this year, California voters committed to limiting government can vote for Lanhee Chen for Controller and Jack Guerrero for Treasurer to keep a spotlight on the cost of the government that the Democrats are delivering to California voters.

for more information on Lanhee Chen for Controller go to https://chenforcalifornia.com/

UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times has endorsed Lanhee Chen for State Controller https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-21/endorsement-lanhee-chen-for-california-controller

(By Gene Berkman, Editor, California Libertarian Report)

Jack Guerrero for California Treasurer

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Cudahy City Councilman Jack Guerrero is running for California Treasurer on a platform of defending taxpayers and investigating the financial excesses of state and local governments in California.

“As Mayor of his hometown city, Jack worked with the California State Controller to expose millions of dollars in wasteful and unlawful spending. As a former pension auditor and one-time university lecturer in statistics, Jack understands the severity of the state’s unfunded pension liability which at nearly $500 billion, threatens the long-term financial stability of the state! Jack will EXPOSE this mismanagement by reckless politicians. Jack will safeguard state assets and advocate for policies that place citizens FIRST, including lower taxes, smaller government, and a prosperous California economy.”

“Mr. Guerrero’s passion for justice extended to education initiatives, when (as Mayor) he did the unthinkable:  He held public hearings on the quality of education in local public schools! He successfully advocated for local school reform, organized parents, and demanded change in one school’s administration.”

Jack Guerrero ran for California Treasurer in 2018, coming in third place in the top two primary. This year, Jack Guerrero faces the incumbent Democrat, Fiona Ma, along with one other Republican, and a Peace & Freedom Party candidate. In June, if Jack can come in second this time, he will face the incumbent in November.

Jack Guerrero was educated as an economist, and he has worked as a consultant to Fortune 500 corporations in California, New York and Europe. He us a CPA and has audited government agencies at the state and local level.

His views on economics and politics are based on his education. He has included on his website a list of books that have influenced him:

  • “The Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith
  • “Principles of Political Economy and Taxation” by David Ricardo
  • “Human Action” by Ludwig von Mises
  • “The Road to Serfdom” by Friedrich von Hayek
  • “Capitalism and Freedom” by Milton Friedman
  • “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand
  • “The Conscience of a Conservative” by Barry Goldwater
  • “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville
  • “Witness” by Whittaker Chambers
  • “Ideas Have Consequences” by Richard Weaver
  • “The Conservative Mind” by Russell Kirk
  • “Reflections on the Revolution in France” by Edmund Burke
  • “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill
  • “The Federalist Papers”

There are no Libertarian Party candidates on the California ballot for any statewide offices this year. The best opportunity for California Libertarians in this election is to get behind the campaign of Jack Guerrero, Republican for Californias Treasurer.

For more information, or to contact the candidate, go to https://www.jack4treasurer.com/

(By Gene Berkman, Editor, California Libertarian Report)