It's Too Big

Whether it's about general funding or fentanyl traffic, national security, or the “level playing field for US industry,” tariffs still dominate public dialog.

Policy is force. tariffs are a tax, it's not a magic wand. I heard a friend say, “How dare Trump put tariffs on our wonderful friends in Canada?” We will all pay the tariffs to the government.

Trump's tax (tariffs) on steel imports actually helped American steel producers. The average price for a new car is now $49,740. Consumers saved the steel companies.

To stay in business farming, I had to make regular visits to the United States Department of Agriculture to sign up for various programs. If I didn't, some other farmer would use those gifts to out-compete me. There is no reason for the USDA, unless it is to benefit some donors who know better how to work the system.

I recently had a conversation with another friend who claimed that the USDA keeps our food safe. This was about the time when onions at McDonald's had sickened several people with E. coli. McDonald's then had one of the largest drops in revenue it had ever had. Did McDonald's fear the USDA more than public choice? No.

Many years ago I met a guy on a train whose job it was to run a skid loader dumping dirt into corn being exported out of New Orleans. It's amazing what can be learned in striking up conversations with strangers. Strangers have more new information for us than friends do, by the way. He was doing this because dirt is cheaper than corn and exported corn is graded by the USDA. If the foreign material is lower than the standard, it pays to contaminate the corn. Other countries gained market share because they sold corn as tested, instead of meeting a standard. USDA officials were doing a job that shouldn't exist.

A couple of chickens test positive for bird flu and a million birds are killed. I sure am glad these people were not in charge when our kids were sick.

The tariff talk is a distraction. The federal government is the largest employer in the United States. That should come as a shock if you count up what we need and who provides it. Our friend Amber often used the term, “holy buckets!” That is what the federal government is.

When I hear of the tragedy of government employees laid off in Trump's drive for efficiency, I'm not unsympathetic. A lot of them probably have debt that was acquired with the thought that their wasteful, destructive, and worthless employer would go on forever. Now they might have to do some of those jobs that many of us have put off getting done for years because of federal student loans. College looked like a way to stay clean while having vacations, gym memberships, and a home.

I bet there are many small business owners who would appreciate someone who wants to learn on the job and stay around. I don't think there's a problem yet with a lack of positions to fill. Doing something worthwhile will probably be extremely refreshing once the shock wears off.

I still have my doubts that Trump's apparent crusade can continue. There are a lot of powerful forces that benefit from big government. Once again I return to the so-called defense industry. Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have our government in his back pocket. Most people ignore the facts about Putin's invasion of Ukraine. It was provoked and welcomed by a sector that was in a panic at the end of the Cold War. Our military could be cut in half and still defend us. Ask anyone who knows anything about the military but is not caught up in the game.

It is not meant to believe that people who earn their living are happier than those who fill out forms for it. It is the opposite of isolationist to believe that private citizens can do business with the rest of the world in a way that benefits all of us. The United States could be funded with tariffs alone, as the Founders envisioned. It will hurt to get there. But we will be better off. 

Any comments are gleefully appreciated through a letter to the editor or directly to me at 4selfgovernment@gmail.com