In your specific example, the North wanted tariffs in order to pressure the South into giving up slavery. The idea was to impoverish the South until they gave in. The people of the northern states understood economics well enough to know that tariffs harm the very people imposing the tariffs. That was the point. They were putting tariffs on those goods needed by the South.
The logic of tariffs is the same as that of the minimum wage. The minimum wage only harms those it’s supposed to protect. Of course, those who initially proposed the minimum wage knew that — and that it would specifically create unemployment among blacks and Asians — which is why they proposed it. It was intended as part of a eugenics projects.
People like you have no understanding of what tariffs do. You think the economy is a zero sum game, that there are winners and losers. You want Americans to “win” and those who are bringing down the global income average to “lose.” But the economy is actually a positive sum game when there is free trade and free movement of people. The American founders understood this when they created the Constitution. They specifically made it impossible for states to impose tariffs on goods from other states and to prevent people from moving from state to state, as was happening under the Articles of Confederation. They understood that free movement of goods and people was vital to economic growth and to peace among the states. That is true among states in a United States as it is among nation-states across the globe.
Historically all prohibitions against the movement of people across borders has been entirely based on race. There is literally nothing more rooted in racism than is the restriction on immigration, whether it be against the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, or Mexicans. The very first immigration restriction passed by the U.S. federal government was against the Chinese specifically. It was 100% racist in nature. And so are all immigration restrictions.
Those who falsely believe tariffs don’t harm Americans, but only harm foreigners believe that non-Americans should be harmed. I want people around the world, regardless of where they live, to enjoy the benefits of free trade, to catch up with us, so we can all grow together.
Free trade absolutely does not require a big government. That’s beyond twisted logic. You are suggesting that not regulating the movement of goods and people, not collecting taxes, not preventing goods from being bought and sold by government requires a bigger government than one that requires those things? Next you’ll be telling me that central planning and welfare states are smaller governments than those with free markets.
