I was waiting on the explanation of the difference between a VAT and a tariff before I asked why should our government make money off of something we won't, or more correctly shouldn't, purchase. Isn't a tariff or VAT more of a punishment or deterrent to the consumer, i.e. cause them to change their behavior?
Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do
Yes. I'm too lazy to dig it up but Captain Midnight pointed out in this thread that a VAT (or tariff for that matter) would discourage consumption of some of the worthless crap that people buy. The flip side is it would encourage savings and, I think, investment.
We're on a provider board, so most should understand that size matters. The US is large enough that we don't need to wait on Canada or the UK to make purchasing decisions that impact us directly. Notwithstanding, I damn sure don't buy in to the nonsense that we need to spend more tax dollars to help fix California's port problem that they created.
I do not believe the benevolent Xi cut tariffs across the board. The trade imbalance has been astronomical and growing for a long time. Plus, Xi seems to be an ungrateful bastard. We shipped him a lot of our pollution and slave labor and what do we get in return? Cheap, single use and disposable Chinese junk.
I thought Trump was on the money for getting them to sign on the dotted line to commit to purchasing our goods and not waiting on other countries to join in. Sure Xi didn't like that, I mean being forthright and accountable.
Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do
I don't think the tariffs did any good. They didn't bring down the trade deficit that the U.S. runs with China. The bilateral deficit has gone up in fact. I've read, and I don't know if it's true, that the federal government spent as much on enhanced subsidies for farmers et al who were hit by Chinese retaliation as it realized from the tariffs. Recall the Chinese started buying soybeans and the like from Brazil and other countries instead of the USA, so subsidies were directed to farm states to compensate.
We're not targeting what's important either. The Chinese have a stranglehold on some things like rare earth elements that are essential to our security. We could get those by developing resources in the USA and Canada. And what have we done about that? Jack.
Who cares about the toys, cheap electronics and garments the Chinese send us. I'd rather we import them than make them here. The people who work in those factories are mostly women, because men don't have the dexterity or patience or whatever for the repetitive work. So, if we started making this stuff in the USA, who would do it? Probably unskilled female Cuban immigrants, who don't have any other options besides becoming strippers. And if there weren't any Cuban strippers that would severely affect the quality of my life and the lives of many of our fellow posters.
Now we can get into taxes for on and on. I view taxes as A) wealth redistribution and B) kick backs. The tax code is so complex and wonky in how it is structured to curry favor by shuffling money that you purchased with your time and effort. The point one of you made about "wealthy" being able to work around taxes is exactly the point. They have the resources to leverage the code - as designed - and are also benefactors of of the kick backs.
Maybe look at it a different way, any tax "break" given is for a reason (a bribe) and something goes somewhere or benefits someone else - and it can be taken away. I know, a crappy explanation, but I'm in a rush at the moment
Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do
Agreed, if you apply that to some of the wealthy. Others are paying far, far more than their fair share, if you compare what they're getting out of the system to what they put in.
