Why did our national debt explode when we moved away from the tarriff system?

[Union Yes]

Some questions are just so difficult to answer.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Trade deficit?

[sui generis]

2. it's the old protectionism pendulum

however, there is a grain of truth in managing balance of trade if we start with balance of manufacturing cost.

If we're STILL incentive-izing internationally outsourced labor then tariffs are useless. We have to start by dis-incentiveizing outsourcing. Add and enforce some standards for balance of trade and you encourage local manufacturing staffed by local Americans.

We're afraid to do that tho cause China really does have us by the short hairs as long as we have open trade with no threat of action other than a relatively unregulated "free market".

[On the Road]

3. Despite Reagan's Free-Market Rhetoric

His policies were actually fairly protectionistic. The debt exploded due to his first two tax cuts. And of course under the second Bush.

Free policies expanded under Clinton, which is when the growth in debt slowed down and it even started started to be paid off.

[truedelphi]

4. Tariff? Has anyone on this board ever heard this word, "Tariff," before?

That word was used back in like the PreCambrian era, some six thousand years ago. (According to the Bible.)

And although the use of "Tariffs" allowed the jelly fish and other PreCambrian era life forms to flourish, would it work out here on this continent, where God has decreed that we must have a free market?

[earth mom]

5. Many of our problems started with NAFTA and CAFTA and the disappearance of tariffs.

:argh: