This is the classic problem with expert class thinking—they measure what’s easy, not what’s important. Tariffs weren’t about squeezing short-term price efficiency; they were about leverage, supply chains, and long-term positioning. If your model can’t capture that, your conclusions are already limited. Peter Navarro is right to call it out. When a study swings from loss to gain depending on assumptions, that’s not clarity—it’s uncertainty dressed up as authority. The real world doesn’t operate in static snapshots. It moves, adapts, and rebalances. Policy should be judged the same way.
Central Planners (Keynesians) believe there must be someone who is smart enough to manage monetary policy. The hypnotized never lie... lawyers, thieves and bankers. "The Economic Calculation Problem is a central topic of discussion in the realm of economics, especially when it comes to the critique of socialism. Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian economist, is credited with bringing this problem to the forefront of economic discussions in the early 20th century. The Economic Calculation Problem is essentially the idea that a socialist economy, where the means of production are owned and controlled by the state, cannot accurately calculate prices, and therefore cannot make efficient economic decisions." {https://fastercapital.com/content/The-Economic-Calculation-Problem--Ludwig-von-Mises--Critique-of-Socialism.html] Meddling in foreign trade and currency trading isn't economic freedom - it is 'gain of function' monetary policy... which is boring until you discover you've been ripped off.
They were given an assignment. They knew the conclusion and then they cherry picked their support data. They did not persuade, or even make an argument. This article was just a smear.
Here's a fact: the value of US tariffs is less than 1/10 the value of NTBs (non-tariff barriers), which US goods face. NTBs are ten percent lower since 2024. So, by any metric I can find, Trump's trade impact has been pro-growth and anti-inflationary.
I wish this article had a wider audience. Tariffs for me and not for thee has been the siren song of our trading “partners” for decades now. These countries plundered us and our once vibrant middle class is now tapped out. With low paying service jobs, they can’t even afford the lower priced products being shipped in from places like China. The idiots who continue to yell about higher prices are only looking at the consumption side and have been for decades. The only people benefiting from “free trade “ are the Wall Street robber barons. Prices hardly moved while wages fell like a stone (in real terms). The difference was made up in consumer debt, which is ready to go massively into default. If Trump doesn’t succeed, we will see 2008 on steroids.
The tariffs are a tax on consumers and the money collected from tariffs enrich the rich. Where are the benefits for the average American who pays higher prices for goods and reap no reward, Mr. Navarro. There is a reason there are many find Trump's tariff shock and awe campaign, and it has nothing to do with academia going on about free trade, there is no such thing as free trade.
This is the classic problem with expert class thinking—they measure what’s easy, not what’s important. Tariffs weren’t about squeezing short-term price efficiency; they were about leverage, supply chains, and long-term positioning. If your model can’t capture that, your conclusions are already limited. Peter Navarro is right to call it out. When a study swings from loss to gain depending on assumptions, that’s not clarity—it’s uncertainty dressed up as authority. The real world doesn’t operate in static snapshots. It moves, adapts, and rebalances. Policy should be judged the same way.
Central Planners (Keynesians) believe there must be someone who is smart enough to manage monetary policy. The hypnotized never lie... lawyers, thieves and bankers. "The Economic Calculation Problem is a central topic of discussion in the realm of economics, especially when it comes to the critique of socialism. Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian economist, is credited with bringing this problem to the forefront of economic discussions in the early 20th century. The Economic Calculation Problem is essentially the idea that a socialist economy, where the means of production are owned and controlled by the state, cannot accurately calculate prices, and therefore cannot make efficient economic decisions." {https://fastercapital.com/content/The-Economic-Calculation-Problem--Ludwig-von-Mises--Critique-of-Socialism.html] Meddling in foreign trade and currency trading isn't economic freedom - it is 'gain of function' monetary policy... which is boring until you discover you've been ripped off.
They were given an assignment. They knew the conclusion and then they cherry picked their support data. They did not persuade, or even make an argument. This article was just a smear.
Here's a fact: the value of US tariffs is less than 1/10 the value of NTBs (non-tariff barriers), which US goods face. NTBs are ten percent lower since 2024. So, by any metric I can find, Trump's trade impact has been pro-growth and anti-inflationary.
Lies, damned lies, and statitstics... No greater example of data manipulation and projection - except for the green/climate agenda, of course. :)
I wish this article had a wider audience. Tariffs for me and not for thee has been the siren song of our trading “partners” for decades now. These countries plundered us and our once vibrant middle class is now tapped out. With low paying service jobs, they can’t even afford the lower priced products being shipped in from places like China. The idiots who continue to yell about higher prices are only looking at the consumption side and have been for decades. The only people benefiting from “free trade “ are the Wall Street robber barons. Prices hardly moved while wages fell like a stone (in real terms). The difference was made up in consumer debt, which is ready to go massively into default. If Trump doesn’t succeed, we will see 2008 on steroids.
The tariffs are a tax on consumers and the money collected from tariffs enrich the rich. Where are the benefits for the average American who pays higher prices for goods and reap no reward, Mr. Navarro. There is a reason there are many find Trump's tariff shock and awe campaign, and it has nothing to do with academia going on about free trade, there is no such thing as free trade.